Amaree Williams’ breakout impact in Mississippi State’s win at South Carolina

Mississippi State edge rusher Amaree Williams wasn’t always viewed as a defensive player. An athlete out of high school, he signed with Florida State and first got on the field as a tight end. His athleticism made him an obvious candidate to get the ball long term, but Williams developed a sense on the other side of the ball that was too good for the Bulldogs to pass up in the transfer portal. From January on to preseason camp, Williams honed his craft on the edge under Zach Arnett with the Mississippi State defense. The hope was to develop a strong option opposite of defensive end Will Whitson on the line. On Saturday at South Carolina, in the SEC opener, Williams’ hard work came to fruition. Williams led the team with 10 total tackles, all solo tackles, along with two tackles for loss and a sack. He had an interception as well that was chalked off due to a penalty, but it only served to underline the effort he made to make South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers uncomfortable. “I thought he did a great job in tackling, like when he had opportunities to get (Sellers) on the ground, he got him on the ground,” head coach Jeff Lebby said of Williams. “We talked about that nonstop. 16 is going to make plays. That is a really talented, good football player, good quarterback that’s going to make plays. Amaree did a really good job of when we had opportunitiesto get him on the ground, he got him on the ground, and that was big for us.” It wasn’t just Sellers either. Williams had big tackles in the second half when the defense was back on the backfoot a little bit. The game got a bit closer than the Bulldogs would have hoped for in the final minutes, but the defense kept the Gamecocks’ offensive production in front of them and got key tackles in bounds that eventually helped to bleed the clock more. “It was crazy,” Williams said after the game. “I didn’t even know how… I mean obviously I was making plays, but I didn’t realize how many plays I was making until I came back and Will was telling me ‘oh you have 10 tackles, 2 TFLs and a sack.’ It’s crazy.” Williams didn’t slow down and recognize the impact until late in the game, but had to continue making an impact. The gamecocks added 11 points in the fourth quarter to get the deficit down to just one score, and the defense had to hold firm against a late comeback push. They dug deep to take control of the game and kept that push going to get over the line. “I feel like it just goes back to play every play like its your last. Just, once you have momentum, running with it. I felt like the defense, and really the offense, came out at halftime and turned up the defense. We just built off that. Just playing off each other.” In those moments, when Williams was locked in, he just leaned on the months spent working on his new trade. There was a common theme among Williams and the rest of the Bulldogs after the game that this performance had to be part of the start towards better football, better and cleaner performances. That was true on both sides, and it fit the motto of Williams’ journey so far as a Bulldog. “I got so much better,” he said of the journey. “I feel like every day is just an opportunity to get better. That’s what it is for me.”