For wide receivers, patterns over the middle end in devastating, bone-crunching blows, usually delivered by linebackers. For 5-foot-6 receivers, middle routes are, essentially, kamikaze missions.

So that Rashard Williams caught five passes – all of which converted third downs for Syracuse’s football team – across the middle is a miracle of sorts, considering the 5-6, 165-pound Williams survived. In his first career start, Williams finished with seven receptions for 71 yards, both team highs, and one touchdown.

‘That’s my little man,’ wide receiver Johnnie Morant said of Williams. ‘But he has a big role. He has to go over the middle. It’s just about confidence. It’s dangerous to (go over the middle at his size), but it’s also to his advantage because the defense loses sight of him.’

Williams’s first catch came at the end of the first quarter on a third-and-three from the Boston College 12. Williams cut inside on a crossing pattern, then got sandwiched between two BC defenders before falling into the end zone, giving SU a 6-0 lead.

Coaches told Williams they would call that play when SU sneaked inside the 20-yard line.

Later, Williams caught a pass on third-and-one at the BC 20 with 23 seconds remaining in the first half. The catch extended a drive which ultimately ended in a touchdown, giving SU a 19-7 lead.

‘I was a big part of third down,’ Williams said. ‘Every time we threw on third down I knew I had a big responsibility to catch the ball and get the first down. I am not really the third-down receiver, but I am a big part of it because I am in the slot and I am a quick guy.’

Third-down situations fit Williams well. The speedy receiver runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, and when he’s lined up against slower linebackers, he can outrun them across the middle.

‘(Rashard) was open,’ SU quarterback R.J. Anderson said. ‘I’m not gonna throw him the ball if he’s not open.’

Williams has come full circle since the beginning of the year. Williams left the team in the preseason and returned to Miami because he felt homesick. He spent time with his mother, who bought Williams the three gold-plated teeth he wears confidently.

During his time off, players kept in contact with the receiver they affectionately call Shorty. When Williams returned to practice prior to SU’s 38-14 win over Central Florida on Sept. 20, he never felt out of place.

In practice, he displayed a big-play ability to his teammates. Saturday, in his first career start, he displayed it to the Big East.

‘He’s very quick,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘He really hasn’t had this kind of game here yet. Last year, he didn’t really have that kind of game. So far this year, he’s shown glimpses of what he can do.’

‘I just told the coaches to give me a chance,’ Williams said. ‘They gave me a chance and that’s all I can ask for. I knew I needed to come back and work hard in practice to show coach I deserved a chance to be here, and he gave me a chance.’

Published on September 20, 2004 at 12:00 pm