Michigan State University Athletics
Demond Williams: Not Quite a Self-Made Man
11/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2006
By Joe Guistina, MSU Sports Information Intern
Head coach John L. Smith has said that cornerback Demond Williams is a self-made man.
It's not exactly a bold statement, considering that Williams, who carries a slight 5-9, 174-pound frame, has faced adversity that has made boys crumble under their own weight.
He lost his mother when he was in sixth grade and only six years later, as Williams finished high school in Jackson, Ala., his father succumbed to a battle with cancer.
To make matters worse in high school, he was set to play at the University of Alabama, playing every Saturday just three hours from his home, but his ACT scores weren't high enough to get into the school.
"He hasn't had a lot of people to help him in life," Smith said. "He's done it all on his own, basically."
It's true, that at times, Williams has had to do it on his own, like his 62-yard interception return for a touchdown against Illinois on Homecoming. Already having built up a head of speed, Williams stepped in front of an Illini receiver and then he was gone, no blocking needed. He is, after all, a young man who has had to do a lot on his own.
But not everything. His high school coach made a call to a former teammate when it became clear that Williams wouldn't be able to get to play with the Crimson Tide. They helped him to get into Pima Community College. After his father died later that year, he headed to New Mexico to stay with his uncle, who was in the Air Force, before packing his bags for Pima in Tucson, Ariz.
After the helping hand, once again, he worked for two seasons at getting better, both in the classroom and on the football field. "I was always trying to not be the next person growing up, to always be different," Williams said of his hardships. "It's never too late to make a difference. I have two younger sisters that look up to me so that was a big motivation."
Williams didn't look back to his high school days as a quarterback when he became a tailback at Pima. Instead, he worked, and as a sophomore, he ran for 198 yards on 25 carries. He worked at cornerback, leading the team with four interceptions, and he worked at special teams, where he blocked a punt and returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.
After his sophomore year, it was time for Williams to pack his bags again. This time, when the big schools came calling, his grades wouldn't hold him back in the decision process. Instead, he thought mostly of his family when making the decision, as well as wanting to enter a family-like environment. He found both at Michigan State.
"My sister is in Cleveland," Williams said. "Out of all the schools that were recruiting me, Michigan State was the closest. My family was a big part of the choice."
So Williams packed his bags, once again, and left Tucson for East Lansing, and from the first day he stepped on campus, it became obvious that he was going to be a big part of the Spartan secondary and special teams units.
He started all 11 games at cornerback as a junior, making 29 tackles. He broke up a pass against Notre Dame in overtime that helped lift the Spartans to a 44-41 win in South Bend, Ind. It was on special teams though, that he made the biggest impact. Against Indiana, he returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Spartan ever to accomplish that feat. Later in the game, he broke through the line and blocked an extra point, which was returned by teammate Ashton Watson for a two-point conversion.
"Words can't even explain it," he said of his role in the 46-15 Spartan win. "It was a great feeling."
Williams was an impact player, but even greater was the impact being a Spartan had on him. Smith became an important figure in his life, as did many of his teammates.
"John L. Smith, I must say, is like a father figure to me," Williams said. "We have a great personal relationship. I feel like he's always there for me, on and off the field."
He's made big breakups, including one at Pittsburgh that helped lift the Spartans to a 38-10 win, and his ability to shake it off when he gets beat on a rout is something that has drawn the respect of the coaching staff.
"Demond is mentally tough," secondary coach Chuck Driesbach said. "He never loses confidence in himself and I've never lost confidence in him."
How can you lose confidence in someone like Williams, who has come up with some huge plays in the secondary for the Spartans, including making one play that may have saved the Spartans' bowl chances against Northwestern. Down 38-10, in the beginning stages of the greatest comeback in NCAA Division I-A history, Williams broke up a pass to Ross Lane on a third-and-10. It was his contribution to a stretch of 38 unanswered points by the Spartans, as they pulled off an improbable 41-38 win. Williams indicated that the bond of his teammates - which is like family - contributed most to the win.
"Trust is a big thing," Williams said. "Every guy will give you the shirt off his back. You want to have that family bond, so when one of our guys steps up and says something, you know it's coming from the heart. Everybody has the same feeling as me, so that means a lot."
For Williams and the Spartans, that bond led to something remarkable. And for a man who has had to go through so much on his own, it was nice, he said, to be able to enjoy a happy trip home from Evanston, Ill., after the game.
"It means so much to me and I think I speak for all the seniors, all the guys on the team," Williams said. "It means a lot to get that `W', that taste back in your mouth. To win the way we did, regardless of who the opponent was, to come back shows a lot of character from our team."
Coming from a man who has already shown so much character, that says everything.
