Seth Williams ready to take next step

[aubiefifty 18,200]

After reconfiguring his body, Seth Williams ready to take next step as Auburn’s top receiver

Posted Aug 20, 7:00 AM

AP

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Seth Williams wants to clear the air and issue a correction.

His listed weight on Auburn’s official roster, 224 pounds, isn’t what he actually weighs heading into his sophomore season.

“The roster lied,” Williams said. “I looked at that and I said, ‘The roster got me looking kind of big on here.’ But I ain’t mad, though. I look like I got some muscle.”

The truth of the matter is Williams hasn’t put on a substantial amount of weight since his breakout freshman campaign. The 6-foot-3 receiver who led the SEC in yards per catch (20.54) last season said he has dropped about 10 pounds since then, though he was listed at 210 last year and says he’s now between 212 and 215 pounds. What that number actually is doesn’t actually matter; more importantly, Williams has reconfigured his body composition — cutting down his body fat considerably, according to strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell.

“I think he’s going to be able to run now,” Auburn wide receivers coach Kodi Burns said. “He’s a guy who has awesome hands. He can do up and get the ball, which we saw last year. The guy is a freakshow in the red zone, especially. But now that he’s lost some weight, I think he can open up and run a little bit more.”

That could herald in bad news for opposing secondaries this fall, as Williams looks to take the next step in his evolution as a receiver. After emerging as a threat as a freshman, reeling in 26 receptions for 534 yards five scores in 2018, Williams is expected to take over the mantle of Auburn’s No. 1 receiver this season.

Seth Williams wants to turn Auburn into 'Wide Receiver U'

Auburn has not had a strong history of producing receivers, and the program hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since 1999.

Part of that is the ability to play more snaps over the course of a game without getting worn out. That, naturally, goes hand in hand with the reshaping of his body this offseason, but there’s more to Williams’ progression as a wide receiver prospect.

When he arrived at Auburn last year, the Cottondale native was simply a raw prospect. A four-star prospect and the No. 35 receiver in the 2018 class, Williams was surviving mostly on natural athleticism last year. He played multiple sports throughout high school — he was an All-State basketball player, played baseball and medaled in the long jump and high jump at AHSAA state track meets — and never really had the opportunity to just focus on developing as a football player.

“When Seth got here and when I recruited Seth, I knew he was a heck of an athlete,” Burns said. “I watched him on the basketball court, and he could dunk a basketball every which way, but he was really raw. He wasn't really coached up as far as receiver.”

Much of Williams’ freshman year was spent with Burns and other offensive staffers working to sharpen his skills at the position, helping Williams get a firm understanding of the offense and the principals of the Tigers’ route tree, as well as how to read a defense and identify coverages.

“It’s more of a mental game,” Williams said. “I see that now.”

In a way, his sheer rawness at the position made his accomplishments in 2018 even more impressive.

Along with leading the SEC in yards per catch, Williams also had the game-winning touchdown catch against Texas A&M last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He became a viable possession receiver who had the ability to outleap and outmuscle defensive backs on jump-balls downfield.

“That's extremely impressive,” Burns said. “I think I kind of look at him like I look at Noah. You look at Noah Igbinoghene, the dude had never played DB in his life, and he ends up starting for us in SEC games and making plays. And he has a chance to end up being a heck of a player. Then you look at Seth, a guy who wasn't a natural receiver in high school — a great athlete — but then he makes impact plays as a freshman. So, I'm excited to see his development and kind of where he's going to be at this year.”

So is Williams, especially after a full offseason of focusing solely on football and honing his skillset as a receiver — even if it has been, for lack of a better word, boring for him not playing all the other sports he excelled at in high school.

“I’m not going to say it has been the most boring, but it’s kind of been like ‘dang, I’ve got to wait until football season comes around to play,’” Williams said. “I have to wait for spring and fall to come around just to play a sport. Just sitting there focusing on football and taking the offseason to learn the game more and sitting and watching film, I feel like that’s helped me a lot. Instead of being in another sport and taking my mind completely off football, being in football has helped me a lot.”

Fall is here now, of course. Auburn wrapped up the camp portion of its preseason practices on Sunday, and the team will begin preparation in earnest for its Aug. 31 season opener against Oregon when it reconvenes for practice Tuesday — and Williams is fully ready for it, even if he anticipates some double-teams headed his way this season.

He has worked on improving his releases off the line and his breaks on routes, as well as developing a rapport with quarterbacks Bo Nix and Joey Gatewood. With his reconfigured body composition, he said he feels lighter, which he hopes will help him be able to move more freely in the open field and get open easier.

After dealing with a minor back injury that limited him for parts of fall camp, Williams is feeling healthier too. He returned full speed to practice late last week, and he said he feels like he’s at “98 percent” with the season fast approaching — and one simple goal in mind as the team’s presumptive No. 1 receiver.

“Ball out,” Williams said. “That’s all my goal is, to ball out. I don’t set personal goals for myself. My goal is to ball out and do what I do.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[LKEEL75 2,567]

There goes that darn al.com spewing all that hatred as usual..... hahaha

[aubiefifty 18,200]

2 minutes ago, LKEEL75 said:

There goes that darn al.com spewing all that hatred as usual..... hahaha

 heck maybe it is just me and not al.com?  lol