Mario Williams

Williams is a physically gifted athlete in the mold of Carolina's Julius Peppers and Philadelphia's Jevon Kearse -- tremendous terrors on the football field who attack quarterbacks with a vengeance. In this era of undersized speed rushers, Williams provides a perfect blend of size, strength and speed. With his massive wingspan, he simply engulfs quarterbacks when delivering the sack. Williams was such a dominating player during his time at Richlands High School that the school recently retired his jersey number (82). The 2002 Associated Press All-State choice was one of three North Carolina High School players to be named to Fox Sports Network's 2002 Countdown to Signing Day All-South team. He was rated the eighth-best player in Super Prep's Elite 50 team and the fifth-best defensive end nationally by BorderWars.com. He was selected to the 2002 North Carolina Shrine Bowl team, where he notched four sacks. Williams recorded 87 tackles, 13 sacks, 22 stops for losses, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five blocked kicks as a senior for Coach Kevin Williams. He also played running back as a senior because of injuries at that position, rushing for 590 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries. He also recorded over 100 tackles as a junior. Williams graduated from high school in December 2002 and attended the Gator Bowl with North Carolina State. Williams earned 2003 Freshman All-American honors from The Sporting News, the Football Writers Association and Football News. He started every game at defensive end, recording 56 tackles (34 solos) with five sacks, thirteen stops for losses, seven quarterback pressures and five pass deflections. He also caused two fumbles and recovered another. The co-recipient of the 2004 Cary Brewbaker Award, given to the team's most valuable defensive lineman, Williams also earned the Bob Warrren Award for Integrity and Sportsmanship. He did not register his first sack until the fifth game, but went on a tear to finish with seven sacks, fifteen stops behind the line of scrimmage and 57 tackles (44 solos). He had nineteen pressures, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups. Williams attained All-American status as a junior in 2005. The team MVP set school single-season records with 14.5 sacks and 27.5 stops for losses. He posted 62 tackles (32 solos) with 23 pressures, a fumble recovery and two forced fumbles. He deflected five passes, blocked a kick and recorded a safety in 36 contests.

williams has a powerful upper body frame, and his long arms are very effective when executing rip, club and swim moves. he has the sudden burst to penetrate inside and is able to disrupt the play coming off the snap. however, a strong reach block can neutralize him, as he does not use his hands effectively to shed. when he gets high in his stance, he negates his natural leverage and strength, giving up too much body surface.

He relies on his power to defeat double teams, but is prone to throttling down and running out of steam at times (see 2005 Georgia Tech game). Possibly due to his youth, he seems inexperienced and lacks football culture when it comes to recognizing blocking schemes. He will struggle some to hold his ground and shuts down when beaten, so do not be fooled by his statistics that he is a consistent performer. He is a talent who can generate domination, but it comes in spurts.

his ability to close in the short area is evident by the high amount of times he gets to the quarterback. he shows a steady acceleration in his chase and the change of direction agility to close suddenly working down the line. he is a superb pass rusher because of his ability to generate constant pressure. he plays at a high pad level, which makes it hard to play off an offensive guard's edge, but has a good swim move when coming over the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle.

Because of marginal hand usage, he will give up too much of his body at times. He has long arms, but must use them more often to protect his legs, as he has problems avoiding the cut block. If he stays low in his pads, he is able to generate better inside position. He shows a hunger closing and drilling the passer and really prefers being utilized in this role more so than run containment. He has the suddenness to chase and close on the passer from the backside and has excellent acceleration in pursuit.

williams has a big frame with good overall muscle development, long limbs, large hands, broad shoulders, good bubble and thick lower body structure. he has outstanding lateral pursuit ability and can close working down the line of scrimmage. he is a physical tackler who still needs to learn how to play lower in his pads and use his hands more effectively to disengage, as he gives up his body too often. still, he has an excellent burst to gain advantage into the backfield and the long arms to engulf the quarterback.

Williams can beat offensive tackles coming off the edge, doing a better job the second half of the 2005 season to anticipate and time his jumps (see Southern Mississippi and Maryland games). He is a high-energy player with the quickness to close on the ball, but still needs to develop a better feel for the play, as he sometimes is late locating the ball. He seems to need time to get into the flow of the game and because of his youth, he will get frustrated at times when his initial move does not work. Williams tries to rely more on his physical ability to make the play and has not yet developed the natural football instincts and awareness needed, as he can be fooled by play action and misdirection.

williams has the lower body strength and flexibility to drop his weight and play with leverage, but just needs to show better consistency. when he sinks his hips and stays low in his pads, he has the body control to compete and split combo blocks. he still struggles with face-up blockers when he keeps his arms short, despite generating good hand strength.

Williams's best asset is his range. He can beat blocks with his sudden burst and has the power to collide into ballcarriers with a big thud. He shows adequate wrap-up tackle technique in the open field, but will revert to drag tackles when caught out of position. Upon contact, he delivers good pop and explosion. He can adjust in space and takes good angles in pursuit.

negatives

Lacks natural football instincts and awareness and can be fooled by play-action and misdirection...Struggles to hold his ground when he gets too high in his stance, as he fails to use his long arms to keep defenders off his body...Has most of his problems when matching against face-up blockers due to his inability to extend his hands to stack...Gets frustrated at times when his initial move fails, giving up too much body surface in the process...Will throttle down and disappear for stretches during the game (see 2005 Georgia Tech and Clemson games) and tends to wear down late in the contest... Plays at too high of a pad level to consistently work an offensive guard's edge as a pass rusher (better outside vs. the tackles)...Can get over trash, but once he tires he will stand tall and keep his feet, but lacks productivity.

positives

Has excellent quickness, long limbs, large hands and good overall strength... Has that explosive initial step to beat offensive tackles coming off the edge...When he extends his long arms, he is very capable of jarring the blocker to lock out and control... His quick burst off the snap lets him split double teams and penetrate...Has the lateral range to make plays off the backside...Good wrap-up tackler at the line, showing the natural strength to take the ballcarrier down...If he anticipates the snap, he has a sudden take-off, which along with his natural strength allows him to be a disruptive force in the backfield...Shows good lateral pursuit agility and is a high energy type who will close in a hurry once he is able to locate the ball...Has a hunger to close and drill the quarterback, generating the flexibility need to counter and come under when he drops his weight and stays low in his pads...Has the leg drive to push the pocket on the bull rush.

2005: Diagnosed with a right leg staff infection after the Middle Tennessee game (11/19) that kept him out of practice all week and prevented him from starting the next game vs. Maryland (11/26).

Campus: 4.73 in the 40-yard dash

450-pound bench press

320-pound squat

6% body fat

33 7/8-inch arm length

10-inch hands. Combine: 4.69 seconds in 40-yard dash.

Attended Richlands (N.C.) High School, playing football for head coach Kevin Williams

Was such a dominating player during his time at Richlands High, that the school recently retired his jersey number (82)

The 2002 Associated Press All-State choice was one of three North Carolina High School players to be named to Fox Sports Network's 2002 Countdown to Signing Day All-South team

Rated the eighth-best player in Super Prep's Elite 50 team and the fifth-best defensive end nationally by BorderWars.com

Chosen to the 2002 North Carolina Shrine Bowl team, where he notched four sacks

Recorded 87 tackles, 13 sacks, 22 stops for losses, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five blocked kicks as a senior

Also played running back as a senior because of injuries at that position, rushing for 590 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries

Recorded over 100 tackles as a junior

Graduated from high school in December 2002 and attended the Gator Bowl with North Carolina State.

Sports Management major

Born 1/31/85

Resides in Richlands, North Carolina.