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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 27 f It wasn't. But early in Williams' sophomore season against Notre Dame, that piece of the game clicked into place because he saw how it could work. Williams said Purdue was able to pick up some of the Irish's hand sig- nals, and though he said it felt like "we cheated almost," it's what made Williams a believer in preparation. By this spring, first-year secondary coach Taver Johnson was calling Wil- liams a "gym rat" and praising his job of studying film. "There were a couple games in his redshirt freshman year where we all knew if he would have watched film, he could have made that big play. But he was just that second late. Last year, he was making those plays," Richards said. "He was in the right spot. This spring, he's been in the right spot. He's been watching YouTube videos and trying to perfect his craft through watching film of other guys, of him- self, all the time." Williams isn't only watching for technique, to see how opposing re- ceivers may tip-off routes or how other DBs move and operate in different de- fenses. He's finding ways to tweak his mind games, too. One of the team's fiercest trash talkers — he can't play without doing it, he says — Williams noticed how Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard would finish a play, even on a run. He'd drive receivers into the pile, never al- lowing them a break from his physical- ity. Dennard "puts fear in some guys," Williams said. That's one of his goals in the fall, one of the reasons he wants to add about five pounds of muscle to get to 194, to be more of what he calls a phys- ical force. It's another way for him to evolve into this new role — from sometimes starter as a redshirt freshman, to full- time starter as a sophomore to now the team's No. 1 cornerback with Allen graduated. "The guy across from me will know I'm good. I want him to have to go to the training room the next day," Wil- liams said. "You dream throughout the week about what you want to do, and you've got two people dreaming. Well, somebody has to take that other person's dream away, and I don't want mine to be taken. So, by any means, I have to win. Period." Williams insists he has no concerns about being able to handle the top cor- nerback load, saying he's not worried about it. PURDUE P E R S O N A L I Z E D P R I N t Gold and Black • 2605 Yeager Road • West Lafayette, IN 47906 • 1-800-876-4678 Visit the store at GoldandBlackDigital.com for this and other great Purdue Fan items! o My check or money order made payable to GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED is enclosed. o Please charge to my: o Visa o MasterCard o American Express o Discover Card No._________________________________________________ Exp. Date ___________________ (Credit Card Charge Will Appear On Your Statement As Gold and Black Illustrated) Name________________________________________________ Sec. Code # ___________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________________ City________________________________________________ State______ Zip _________________ (REQUIRED) Daytime Phone #: (_________) _______________________________________________ Email Address: ______________________________________________________________________ QTy. ITEm DESCRIPTION PRICE TOTAL Purdue Pub Print $49.95 ea. Subtotal Sales Tax (IN 7%) TOTAL Personalized 11x14 Purdue pub print. 13x16 MDF frame w/styrene image protection. Please allow up to 3 weeks from order date for delivery (Ships via UPS Ground) $ 49 95 FREE S&H! Your last name or business name appears on this personalized Purdue pub sign! Your full name is also imprinted as "proprietor." Please print clearly . . . Type size is relevant to number of letters. (Item #7512) LAST NAmE OR BUSINESS NAmE (UP TO 12 CHARACTERS TOTAL) PROPRIETOR'S FULL NAmE (UP TO 18 CHARACTERS TOTAL)