Williams Named Acting Head Football Coach
11/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
? Coach Bobby Williams Introduced by Clarence Underwood
? Seniors Amp Campbell and Aric Morris Address the Team
? Coach Tom Izzo Addresses the Football Team
Bobby Williams was named Michigan State's acting head football coach at a team meeting held Tuesday afternoon in the Clara Bell Smith Center auditorium.
Williams, formerly the team's associate head coach and running backs coach, will lead the team through the Jan. 1 Florida Citrus Bowl, as the Spartans look for their 10th victory of the season. He was elevated to the position after former head coach Nick Saban accepted the head coaching position at Louisiana State University Tuesday morning.
Michigan State, at 9-2, has enjoyed its first nine-win regular season since 1966, and it ranked 10th in the nation this week by the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today. The Spartans finished second in the Big Ten Conference and will play in a New Year's Day bowl game for the first time since 1989.
Senior defensive backs Amp Campbell and Aric Morris also spoke to the team at the meeting, as did men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, who expressed his admiration for what the team had accomplished to this point and encouraged them to go further.
Wiliams was introduced at the team meeting, which was open to the media, by interim athletics director Dr. Clarence Underwood to rousing cheers from the team.
"Thank you, that's very nice," Williams told his players. "I really appreciate this opportunity. We've always told you that life is full of opportunities. This is a great opportunity for me and I am very excited about it."
Williams, in his 10th season with the Spartans, has been the team's running backs coach since May 31, 1990. He was elevated to the position of associate head coach last off-season.
During his tenure at Michigan State, Williams has coached seven 1,000-yard rushers.
Williams came to Michigan State from Kansas, where he served as receivers coach from February through May of 1990. A four-year letterwinner at Purdue (1977-81), he has also worked at Eastern Michigan (1985-89), Ball State (1983-84) and Purdue (1982).
"(The Florida Citrus Bowl) is a game I want you guys to make a commitment to go win," Williams told the team. "Not for me, but for you and your family, because it's important."
Williams stressed that the rest of the Spartan staff is committed to leading the team to victory in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
"I made a commitment to this administration that I want to stay here and coach this football team," Williams said. "The coaches here -- every single assistant coach -- wants to stay here and coach this football team. We have a job at hand. Everything from this point on is moving forward, and I know we are going to get this done."
Seniors Campbell and Morris asked the team to come together in its goal of winning the bowl game.
"A lot of people are going to count us out," Campbell said, "and say that we're not the same team. We've been proving people wrong all year. ... We've got to show our character right now. We've lost Coach Saban, but we've got to pick up where we left off."
"We've got to come together and get focused," Morris told his teammates. "Remember, our goal was to get to a New Year's Day bowl game, and not only just to show up -- we want to win it, too."
Izzo, who was joined by All-American Mateen Cleaves, expressed his appreciation for what the football team has accomplished to this point and his confidence that the Spartans will continue to excel.
"You guys have been an inspiration to me this year," Izzo said. "I watched how far you came, I watched the adversity you went through, I watched the injuries, I watched the problems. I watched the people talk down about you, look down on you. The coaches did a great job, but the players play the game. It's you players who are going to make the difference."
