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DT Tyleik Williams (All B1G, All-American)

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I don’t think it’s coincidental we’re seeing new guys have breakout games.

Teams start scheming for the LB blitzes and then Zach Harrison has a monster day.

Harrison has a monster day on tape, and all of a sudden JT has a breakout performance.

All these guys have been playing well
collectively. Now we are seeing teams implement schemes to negate certain players, and it’s freeing up guys to make plays.
 
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Even though Williams seemingly hadn’t been a big factor in Ohio State’s defensive game plans before Saturday, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles wasn’t surprised to see him make a big impact against the Nittany Lions. Knowles had seen improvement from Williams in practice that gave Knowles increased confidence in Williams going into State College.

“He's got really freakish athletic ability for his size. So with Tyleik, it's been just about developing consistency in practice, you know, so that he earns those reps and those opportunities,” Knowles said. “He's been doing that more and more in practice, and I always knew he had the ability.”

Ryan Day concurred with Knowles’ assessment of Williams.

“He's been practicing better. You've heard that come out of the defensive room. You've heard it from (defensive line coach Larry Johnson) now that he's been practicing better,” Day said. “Tyleik is very talented, but I think he's really learning the game more and more every week.”

To some degree, Williams’ increased playing against Penn State was out of necessity. Penn State ran 81 plays against Ohio State, the most the Buckeyes’ defense has faced all season, which led to more snaps for the backup defensive tackles. But Day also thought Williams brought a great attitude to Happy Valley that helped him play at his best.

“One thing I recognized after the first third-down catch to Marvin (Harrison Jr.) on the sideline, I think Tyleik was right there with Taron and those guys and they were like pointing first down and they were like up on the sideline. It was just a great energy on that sideline, and they were leading the way on it,” Day said. “Certainly, you saw what those guys did (on the field), but it started with their attitude. And that makes a difference when you're on the road, when you're positive and you're leading.”

Williams told reporters Wednesday “it felt amazing” to have as big of a game as he did against Penn State. But he doesn’t want that one game to be a flash in the pan.

“I'm trying to do that every week,” Williams said. “Control what I can control and make the best of the opportunities I get.”

Williams said it helped him make a bigger impact to have the chance to play more regularly against Penn State than he had in previous games this season. But he also knows he has to take advantage of the snaps he gets in order to prove he deserves more playing time.

Williams has tweeted the phrase “free 91” on multiple occasions this season, raising questions about whether he was unhappy about his lack of playing time. Williams didn’t want to say exactly what “free 91” means when he was asked about it Wednesday, but said it should not be interpreted as any sign of displeasure.

“I love it here. I love it here,” Williams said. “I wouldn't want to be nowhere else.”
 
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Tyleik Williams has given Twitter conspiracy theorists plenty to feed off of over the past two seasons.

In an age of proliferated transfer portal movement and NIL offer speculation, it doesn’t take much to rile up supporters of any respective fanbase with a few cryptic words on social media. Whether or not there’s any real substance to a particular message or action, many will believe they have enough to read the supposed tea leaves.
For the Ohio State defensive tackle, merely a two-word refrain has done the trick.

Free 91.

Williams began tweeting the mantra in the middle of his true freshman season, at which point he had already flashed on the field with a three-game stretch in which he racked up four sacks for the Buckeyes. Williams played in every game the rest of the season for Ohio State, but never more than 19 snaps. Given his production, many thought Williams deserved a longer leash.

Perhaps Williams had a similar line of thinking, not that he ever said as much publicly. But his initial “Free 91” tweet – which Williams subsequently deleted – seemed to suggest as much, if anyone was searching for meaning to assign the sentiment from the outside looking in.

After the season, though, Williams took full accountability for his lack of playing time, saying, “I wasn’t in shape, so they couldn’t put me on the field.”
 
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MGMT said:
Little surprised to hear of him getting mocked in round 1; the potential is there but the impact needs to consistently and dominance needs to be seen this season.
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Same, that must be on potential with his size and the moments he flashed. That said, if his physical condition is there and he stays healthy, he could achieve that...I see a potential DJ Reader type 1-tech.

Cool part is that Hall is an ideal 3-tech, so the pair should be an incredible duo inside for our starters. And with presumably good depth in Hamilton, Kanu, Hamilton, McKenzie and McDonald.
 
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RB07OSU said:
Same, that must be on potential with his size and the moments he flashed. That said, if his physical condition is there and he stays healthy, he could achieve that...I see a potential DJ Reader type 1-tech.

Cool part is that Hall is an ideal 3-tech, so the pair should be an incredible duo inside for our starters. And with presumably good depth in Hamilton, Kanu, Hamilton, McKenzie and McDonald.
Click to expand...

NFL will take "potential based on measurables" over college production almost every time.

Look at Rashan Gary for example. Guy was incredibly meh at Michigan but got drafted mid round 1 based on measurables.
 
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