D'haquille Williams suspended for Outback Bowl, intends to return for 2015
TAMPA -- Auburn's top wide receiver won't play this week but intends to return in 2015.
D'haquille Williams is suspended for the Outback Bowl but intends to return for his senior season, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said on Monday.
"Duke Williams will not play. He has been suspended for breaking team rules," Malzahn said. "He is planning on coming back next year, so that's why he's here. I thought it was important that he's on the scout team. He's acting as Wisconsin's top receiver, so I felt like that was the right thing to do."
Malzahn declined to say when Williams' violation occurred or what the nature of indiscretion was.
"I'm not getting into any specifics," Malzahn said. "He's just not going to play."
Williams was "running late" in his trip to Tampa on Friday, arrived Saturday and practiced Sunday. He missed seven practices in Auburn because of an undisclosed ailment, though a photo he posted and since deleted showed an injury to his left eye, which has since appeared to clear up based on a photo taken Sunday night, and the first practice of bowl week.
The 6-foot-2 216 pound junior has not spoken publicly since the Iron Bowl, but posted to social media to address his future.
"I [sic] married to my hustle and that's school and football," Williams tweeted Monday.
A source with knowledge of Williams' thinking said the LaPlace, Louisiana native feels he has "much work to do before he's playing his best."
Williams missed the Georgia and Samford games after suffered a sprained MCL against Texas A&M.
The Tigers are confident they won't have a problem replacing the production of Williams, who leads the Tigers with 45 receptions for 730 yards and five touchdowns, for a third time this season.
"Ain't going to be no drop off in production," running back Cameron Artis-Payne said. "We got great receivers all across the board. With Duke not playing we're just going to have some other guys step up. Some guys have been waiting to step up in his absence anyway.
"One guy don't make a team. One guy don't determine how we do things around here. The end of the day, Duke's a great player with him missing we're still going to do what we need to do on offense t put up points we're accustomed to putting up."
Auburn will again turn to Melvin Ray and C.J. Uzomah to replace Williams in the split-5 receiver position against Wisconsin.
"We've played without him a couple of games anyway," Malzahn said. "We've got some veteran guys that we can move around. … We have guys that we feel very good about that are veteran guys that have made plays for us the last two years. We have a plan and we feel good about it."
Senior wide out Quan Bray, who lines up mostly in the slot, said he's "been moving around" to other spots as well this week.
Williams did not submit paperwork for evaluation by the NFL Draft Advisory Board, but their input was not necessary for Williams to decide to return.
When Williams decided to return is unclear, but he provides a major target for Auburn's passing game, which will most likely be quarterbacked by Jeremy Johnson, in 2015.
The Tigers are losing running backs Artis-Payne and Corey Grant, receivers Sammie Coates and Bray, tight ends Uzomah and Brandon Fulse following the Jan. 1 bowl game. The departures combined for 99 receptions for 1,515 yards and 12 touchdowns and the returning players, led by Williams, have 93 catches for 1,253 yards and nine scores this season.