Patience pays for Williams
Knights WR saves best for his senior season
Marlon Williams never doubted he could play at an elite level.
His coaches and teammates at UCF knew it, but the moment never seemed to be right for the senior receiver.
This season, Williams’ timing couldn’t be better and he’s on pace for a record-setting campaign with the Knights.
“I’m just trying to be the best that I can be every week,” said Williams, who leads the nation in receiving yards (753) and receptions (54). “I’m just trying to show what I can do and be the best for my team and the receivers. I’m trying to show the work that we’re putting in.”
But things didn’t start that way.
When Williams arrived on campus from Mobile, Ala., as a true freshman in 2017, the Knights featured a loaded roster of talented wideouts, including a future NFL prospect Tre’Quan Smith, Dredrick Snelson and newcomers Gabriel Davis and Otis Anderson.
During his freshman season, the 6-foot-1 Williams finished with 17 catches for 270 yards and two touchdowns as part of UCF’s perfect 13-0 season.
The following season, Williams found himself sharing time behind Davis, Snelson and Tre Nixon, finishing with 18 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown. His breakthrough season would come in 2019 when he finished behind Davis and Nixon with 51 catches for 717 yards and six touchdowns.
“I’ve been through a lot, but my receivers coach [Darrell] Wyatt and [offensive quality control] coach [Lanear] Samson, they always told me to keep working,” Williams recalled. “Hard stuff happens sometimes. There’s going to be guys in certain spots and that’s just how the numbers work. Keep working.
“I knew what I was capable of and my coaches knew what I was capable of, it was just a matter of the right time.”
UCF coach Josh Heupel said he’s seen growth from Williams over the years.
“There is a process, an investment that you must make to continue to improve every single day and it doesn’t just happen because you want it to happen,” Heupel said. “You must put in time and effort. He’s stayed the course and is having a huge season as well.”
The presumption was Williams would share time with Nixon this season as the Knights’ primary receiving options following the departure of Davis. But after Nixon went down with an unspecified injury during the first half of the opener against Georgia Tech and hasn’t been back since, Williams has stepped up in his absence.
“I don’t think Marlon has approached practice differently from the beginning of training camp to after Tre getting injured,” Heupel said. “Did he feel like he was going to get more targets because of that? Maybe. But I just think he’s taking advantage of it.”
Williams has been targeted 77 times, the most in the country this season by a wideout, including a season-high 18 times against East Carolina and 17 times apiece against Tulsa and Memphis.
He’s on pace to finish the ninegame season with 97 catches for 1,355 yards, both of which would be school records. Davis set the mark for receiving yards in a single season with 1,241 in 2019, doing so in 12 games.
While Williams’ performance may surprise some, his teammates aren’t shocked.
“It’s nothing that we didn’t know was going to happen, it’s just when and where,” said UCF tight end Jake Hescock, who was Williams’ roommate for two seasons. “We knew he’s been putting in the work in practice. It was just a matter of when: When he was going to get the opportunity — when the time was going to come — and now it’s here and everybody else gets to see what we already knew.”
Added quarterback Dillon Gabriel, “He’s always been who he was, it’s just now he’s getting the football more and he’s able to show it.”