SPORTS

D'haquille Williams gives Auburn 'best of both worlds'

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn wide receiver D'haquille Williams had nine catches for 154 yards and a touchdown against Arkansas.

AUBURN -- It wasn't like Gus Malzahn needed another weapon to enhance his offense.

Already stocked with Heisman Trophy contender Nick Marshall returning at quarterback, one of the best returning deep threats in the country in Sammie Coates, one of the best offensive lines in the SEC and a four-deep running back corps, Auburn adds D'haquille "Duke" Williams at wide receiver, an embarrassment of riches in offensive firepower.

Williams, the top junior college prospect in the country last year, lived up to the hype in his Auburn debut. He made nine catches for 154 yards — a team record in a debut — and a touchdown against Arkansas.

Williams' display was even more impressive considering he did most of his damage over the middle of the field as he was lined up primarily as the Y inside receiver.

"He is one of those guys that's big, but he can also run, so he kind of gives you the best of both worlds," Malzahn said. "It takes a lot of versatility to play that inside receiver effectively in our offense."

The 6-foot-2 Williams said he's up to 223 pounds from his listed weight of 216, which would make him the biggest of Auburn's wide receivers.

"I didn't change my game up. I just got better," Williams said. "Learned how to run routes better; got faster, stronger."

Tight end C.J. Uzomah said Williams presents an "awful matchup problem" for opposing defenses, especially if he's lined up inside, as he's too fast to be covered by linebackers and too big to be handled by average safeties or corners.

"It's hard to match him up on the inside," Uzomah said. "He definitely shows that he's a matchup problem with somebody and something that defenses are definitely going to have to account for."

When Williams got open Saturday, which happened often, Jeremy Johnson was ready to throw to him. The duo connected seven times for 138 yards, including a 62-yard strike, with a touchdown in the first half.

"It spread the field, and it gave us more options to throw the ball deep or throw it across the middle. He's a big factor, and the key to our offense," Johnson said. "He can find a way to get open. Once he catches it, he goes for a long run."

There are varying accounts of how fast Williams is. After Saturday's game, he claimed to have "4.3 speed," while teammates joke he's "not that fast" — though lack of speed didn't seem to be a problem against the Razorbacks.

"I'm still on him hard for getting hawked on (the 62-yard catch), but maybe he can lose five or six pounds here and take that one to the house next time," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He did a great job. … We're going to continue to try to get him and our other guys in favorable matchups and get them the ball. I wasn't shocked at all. That's what we've seen."

Lashlee also praised Williams for his blocking, a major aspect of the Y position.

With Coates, Ricardo Louis, Marcus Davis and Williams, the Auburn passing attack could give defenses nightmares this fall.

"It's very difficult, especially a team that plays a lot of man coverage and leaves that slot guy one-on-one," Tigers safety Jermaine Whitehead said. "Duke is a playmaker. He'll make a play with two or three guys on him.

"You have to respect our whole offensive scheme now. We're passing the ball a lot more. I think we proved we can put the ball in the air this year."