Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
found himself going up against the record- setting wideout in practice, and those en- counters didn't go well for him as he tried to acclimate to his new position. "It was rough going against Allen," Williams said. "He took advantage of me on a couple of reps. But I learned a lot going against him and from watching guys like Adrian Amos and seeing how they played. I would try to mold some of the things Adrian did and try to put them to- gether with my game." That studious approach has paid divi- dends for Williams. He may have struggled that first season, losing his starting spot at midseason after the Lions opted to move Amos from safety back to corner- back, his original position. But last season, he was a stabilizing force in the secondary, starting 12 of 13 games, making 27 tackles and two interceptions and winning hon- orable mention All-Big Ten notice. De- fensive coordinator Bob Shoop said of Williams, "He's just cool out there. He just doesn't make mistakes. He's cold, he's calculated. He does his job, and I just feel so comfortable and so confident with him out there manning the field corner position." Over the past seven months, Williams' focus has been on making the most of his final season at Penn State. He's been watching film of top NFL cornerbacks like Joe Haden of Cleveland, Patrick Peterson of Arizona and Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets, paying close attention to their footwork and other skills in the hope of incorporating those elite refinements into his own game. He's also been paying closer attention to his diet, making sure he's consuming the right combination of carbs and protein throughout the day and staying hydrated at all times. And, of course, he's been hitting the weights. His work in the weight room, coupled with his improved nutrition, has helped him gain about 10 pounds without sacri- ficing any speed. These days, he weighs about 200 pounds, and his 40-yard speed is in the 4.5-second range – right where it was last year. "I'm just doing a lot of extra work," Williams said, "going above and beyond what I usually do. Whatever I did last year, I'm just trying to increase it so that I can improve." In addition to the physical refinements, Williams is looking to assert himself as a leader. With Jordan Lucas moving to safety, he is the team's most experienced cor- nerback by a lot. "I was never really a vocal guy. That was just my personality," Williams said. "But this spring, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just leading by example, that I was also leading vocally. If I saw somebody slacking or trying to skip a rep, I would call them out on it. If they weren't doing what they were supposed to do, I would >> 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L KEY PERSONNEL CB: Christian Campbell*, Grant Haley*, Ayron Mon- roe, Amani Oruwariye, John Reid, Jordan Smith, Garrett Taylor, Trevor Williams*, Daquan Worley; Saf.: Marcus Allen*, Troy Apke, Malik Golden, Jordan Lucas*, Anthony Smith LOSSES CB: Da'Quan Davis; Saf.: Adrian Amos*, Jesse Della Valle, Kasey Gaines, Ryan Keiser* RISING STAR Defensive coordina- tor Bob Shoop was thrilled with Allen's debut season, and it's not hard to see why. The 6-foot-2, 206- pounder became the Lions' starting free safety when Keiser went down with a season-ending rib injury in October and went on to make six starts as a freshman, finishing third on the team with 52 tackles. Said Shoop, "I really think he played as well as any safety in college football the second half of the year." BIGGEST LOSS Amos was one of Penn State's unsung heroes the past three years. He made 37 consecutive starts for the Nittany Lions, a streak dating back to the 2012 season, and was taken by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the NFL Draft this past May. NUMBERS GAME Penn State fin- ished the 2014 season with 16 inter- ceptions, the third-highest total in the Big Ten. But more than half of those picks came in two games: a 13-10 vic- tory over Rutgers (five) and a 30-13 win over Temple (four). OUTLOOK This is shaping up to be one of the better position groups on the team. Of the eight players on the Pinstripe Bowl two-deep, six are re- turning this fall. In fact, four of those players were true freshmen in 2014: Campbell, Haley, Allen and Apke. The Nittany Lions finished second in the country in pass-efficiency defense last year, so the future here looks excep- CORNERBACK NO NAME YR HT WT 10 Trevor Williams Sr. 6-1 199 4 Daquan Worley R-Fr. 5-10 183 FREE SAFETY 2 Marcus Allen So. 6-2 206 28 Troy Apke So. 6-1 201 STRONG SAFETY 9 Jordan Lucas Sr. 6-0 199 6 Malik Golden R-Jr. 6-1 205 CORNERBACK 15 Grant Haley So. 5-9 186 1 C. Campbell So. 6-1 186 21 Amani Oruwariye R-Fr. 6-1 196 * Starting experience in 2014