Jesse Williams did something this summer that a lot of college students take for granted — he went home. It doesn’t sound like much, but for the native of Brisbane, Australia, the return to his stomping grounds can be difficult to arrange.
It had been almost two years since Williams had seen his family, and in that time, a lot had changed for Alabama’s senior nose tackle.
“It was good to get back,” he said. “Before that, I didn’t see my family for one and a half, close to two years. It’s been pretty tough, but it’s kind of like a job for me. You just keep doing it day by day.”
The first thing his parents noticed was something about which a lot of SEC offensive linemen might feel the same:
“How I got so big,” he said. “When I left, I wasn’t this big.”
The 6-foot-4-inch, 320-pound senior will try to use his size to his advantage this fall, where he’s made the switch to nose tackle after playing his junior year at left end. The transfer from Western Arizona Community College has embraced the role and hopes he can fill the literally big shoes left by former noseguard legends, such as Josh Chapman and Terrence Cody.
“I think it’s just a different mindset,” Williams said. “It’s really close quarters down there, not as loose as the five. But I played there in junior college and I’m just trying to find my feet again and get back to the technique I was using.”
One player who has already seen Williams’ ability at nose tackle is guard Chance Warmack, who spends a lot of time blocking Williams in practice.
“Strong guy, first and foremost,” Warmack said. “If you can block him, you can block anybody. He’s a very athletic and strong person. Comes hard every play and is a very intelligent person. I have much respect for him.”
But if there’s anyone on Alabama’s roster who’s more familiar with Williams than Warmack, it’s offensive lineman Barrett Jones. Jones lined up against Williams all of last year, when Jones played left tackle and Williams played on the end. This offseason, when Williams made the switch to the interior, Jones followed him, taking up a new position of his own at center.
“He’s been doing well from where I’m standing,” Jones said. “He’s a really unique combination of not only strength and quickness, [but] he’s a lot quicker than you guys give him credit for. We saw a little bit last year how he can play five technique … The way I feel is that if I can block Jesse in a 3-4 nose, I can block anybody. He’s a really unique kind of guy who really is that true game changer at nose.
But Williams’ impact may not be felt on the stat sheet, where interior linemen hardly make their living. The nose tackle’s job in a 3-4 defense like Alabama’s is often to eat up one, two or even three blockers up at a time, which frees up linebackers and other defensive players to make plays.
So whether Williams is making tackles or just taking up space, opposing offenses will have their hands full when it comes to stopping Alabama’s Aussie.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see Jesse,” running back Eddie Lacy said. “There’s no spinning away from Jesse. If he’s there, he’s there. Just take it for what it is.”
