University of Tennessee Athletics
A Homecoming For His Final Act
December 09, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
The reaction to Tennessee's bid to the TaxSlayer Bowl in the team meeting room at the Anderson Training Center was jubilation all around. But the feeling for the 13 Vols from the Sunshine State was even more emotional.
Williams, one of two Gainesville natives on the Tennessee roster along with high school teammate Trevarris Saulsberry, will have the opportunity to play his final college game just over an hour from where he grew up. A football career coming full circle.
"We didn't really know what bowl we were going to play in," Williams said. "There were a lot of rumors floating around. The first thing I did was text a lot of my friends back home and text my friends."
Williams and Saulsberry are not the only ones playing close to home. Jacksonville native Kenny Bynum will play his first bowl game in his hometown. Redshirt sophomore Nathan Peterman and injured freshman linebacker Dillon Bates are both from Jacksonville suburbs. Senior running back Marlin Lane will play his final collegiate game just 90 miles up I-95 from his Daytona Beach home.
Returning to Florida for the 12 natives, along with Jakob Johnson (who attended high school in Jacksonville) will be special, and it is another step forward for the Tennessee program.
"Monumental," head coach Butch Jones said. "It's evidence now with prospective student-athletes of what's going on here and I think it speaks volumes that the TaxSlayer Bowl would invite the University of Tennessee. They had many, many options. They had many, many choices. It's an illustration of what's going on here. We have 13 players from the state of Florida, so for them to be able to go back home and play in front of their friends and their families will be very special to them as well."
Williams has had his finest season as a Vol in 2014, starting all 12 games, persevering through a broken wrist suffered against Ole Miss to be right back in the lineup against Alabama. He has made 25 tackles with 4.0 TFLs, two sacks and four pass break-ups. He set a career high with six tackles and a sack on senior night against Missouri.
Playing close to home gives Williams a homecoming for one last night in orange, but it has also given him a few extra obligations for his bowl preparations: Ticket requests.
"It's going to be tough, I was already thinking about that," Williams said. "I think we get six tickets this game, so I'm going to try to get some guys to help me out."
If his teammates need a reason to deliver for their senior, they need only remember the scene Sunday afternoon when Jones called what he termed an "emergency" team meeting to let them know their postseason plans.
"It was wild, it was pure excitement," Williams said. "We really appreciate the Gator Bowl giving us that bid and it was a great, great time."
