(1) MIKE WILLIAMS
Wide Receiver, 6-5, 230, So./So.
CAREER: He already is tied for fourth on USC’s career receptions
list (168) and has 12 100-yard receiving games in his young career. His
168 career catches is tied for 14th on the Pac-10 list and his 2,491 career
receiving yards is 19th on the Pac-10 chart. He has 30 touchdown catches
in his 25-game career, having eclipsed the USC career TD reception record
3 games before the end of his sophomore season (the Pac-10 career TD
reception mark is 32 by Stanford’s Ken Margerum in 1977-80). His 30
career TDs are the most of any Trojan sophomore ever at any position. He
has had multiple TD games 9 times, including 3 times getting a USC game
record-tying 3 TDs. He is averaging a touchdown every 5.8 times he touches
the ball (30 TDs on 175 touches, including his 5 rushes and 2 pass attempts).
He is the only Trojan with 2 seasons of 80-plus catches. He is
just the second Trojan (joining Keyshawn Johnson) to have a pair of 1,000-
yard receiving seasons.
2003: Just a sophomore in 2003, Williams—who possesses
Keyshawn-like skills—was one of the nation’s most dynamic and dangerous
wide receivers. Overall in 2003 while starting all 12 games, he had 87
catches for 1,226 yards (14.1 avg.) and 16 TDs, plus he gained 26 yards
on 3 rushes (8.7 avg.) off of backwards passes, completed a 23-yard pass
on his only attempt, blocked a field goal and made a tackle. He was tied for
sixth nationally in receptions (7.3, second in the Pac-10) and was eighth in
receiving yards (102.2, third in Pac-10). His 16 TD catches in 2003 is a
USC season record, were the most in the Pac-10 in 2003 and were the
most by a Trojan in a season since Marcus Allen scored 23 in 1981. His 87
catches in 2003 were third on the USC season ladder (tied for seventh on
the Pac-10 list) and his 1,226 receiving yards in 2003 were fifth on the USC
season chart (15th on the Pac-10 ladder). He had 7 100-yard receiving
games in 2003. A finalist for the 2003 Biletnikoff Award, he was eighth
in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was a 2003 consensus All-American
as he was named to the 2003 AP, Football Writers, Walter Camp,
ESPN.com, SI.com, Collegefootballnews.com and Rivals.com All-
American first teams (the first All-American first team Trojan wide receiver
since Keyshawn Johnson in 1995 and the first USC sophomore
honoree since Tony Boselli in 1992), The Sporting News All-American
second team and the 2003 All-Pac-10 first team. He also made the
ESPN.com All-Pac-10 and Collegefootballnews.com All-Pac-10 first
teams. He won USC’s Player of the Game versus UCLA award. He was
named to the prestigious 2003 Playboy Pre-Season All-American team.
At Auburn, he had a game-best 8 catches for 104 yards with a 5-yard
TD. He grabbed a game-high 10 passes for 124 yards, including a pair of
touchdowns (a 1-yarder to open USC’s scoring and then an 18-yarder in
the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach) against BYU. He had 3
grabs for 70 yards (with a 33-yard TD) against Hawaii, then 6 catches for
96 yards at California (plus he was credited with a 17-yard run while catching
a backwards pass). He had 5 catches for 108 yards at Arizona State.
He tied a USC game record with 3 TD catches (40, 18 and 3 yards, all in
the second quarter) while collecting 7 receptions for 129 yards against
Stanford. He added 9 catches for 112 yards at Notre Dame (with a 7-yard
TD). He led USC with 6 catches for 43 yards at Washington. He added 4
grabs for 43 yards (including a 13-yard TD) against Washington State, plus
he completed a scrambling 23-yard pass and had 2 runs for 9 yards (on
backwards passes). At Arizona, he had 11 catches for 157 yards and 3
TDs (15, 22 and 26 yards)—all game bests—while setting the USC career
record for touchdown receptions. He had 11 catches for 181 yards with 2
TDs (21 and 4 yards)—all in the first half—against UCLA. Against Oregon
State, he had 7 catches for 59 yards and 2 TDs (a 14-yarder and then a
spectacular one-handed, Frisbee-like 9-yard catch) and he also blocked a
field goal
2002: It’s an understatement to say that Williams made a huge impact
as a freshman wide receiver in 2002, his first year at USC. He was
perhaps the top freshman receiver in the country. Overall in 2002 while
appearing in all 13 games (he started against Washington and Oregon), he
caught a team-high 81 passes for 1,265 yards (15.6 avg.) with 14 TDs,
plus he was 1-of-1 passing for 19 yards, ran for 9 yards on 2 carries (4.5
avg.) and had a tackle, forced fumble and fumble recovery. He was named
to the 2002 The Sporting News Freshman All-American first team,
Scripps/Football Writers Freshman All-American first team, Rivals.com
Freshman All-American first team and was the Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year. He was 16th nationally in receiving yards (97.3, fifth in Pac-10)
and 20th in receptions (6.2, third in Pac-10). His 14 TD catches was second
most in the nation. His 81 catches in 2002 are third on the USC
season list. He had 5 100-yard receiving games in 2002 (including a stretch
of 4 in a row—the most at USC since Keyshawn Johnson had 12 in a row
in 1994 and 1995). He caught a TD pass in 7 consecutive games. His 14
TD receptions tied the USC season record first set by Johnnie Morton in
1994. His 3 TD receptions against Washington in 2002 tied a USC game
record and his 13 catches at Oregon was a USC freshman mark. He owns
the NCAA, Pac-10 and USC freshman season records for receiving yards
(1,265) and TD catches (14, sharing the NCAA mark with Florida’s Jabar
Gaffney in 2000) and the Pac-10 and USC frosh mark for catches (81). He
made the 2002 CNNSI.com All-American honorable mention, plus All-
Pac-10 second team and The Sporting News Freshman All-Pac-10 first
team, as well as The Sporting News All-Pac-10 Freshman Offensive
Player of the Year .
Against Auburn, Williams made his Trojan debut by catching 4 passes
for 56 yards off the bench. He had a game-high 7 grabs for 90 yards at
Colorado. He had an 11-yard catch at Kansas State, then caught 4 passes
for 62 yards, including a pair of TDs (11 and 16 yards), against Oregon
State. He caught 6 passes for 112 yards at Washington State, including a
55-yard TD bomb in which he outjumped the defender, then had 6 receptions
for 103 yards with a 21-yard TD against California. Against Washington,
he not only tied a USC game record with his 3 TD grabs, but his 9
catches in the game equaled Kareem Kelly’s USC freshman mark and his
159 receiving yards—a then-career high—was his third consecutive 100-
yard performance (the most by a Trojan since Keyshawn Johnson had 12
in a row in 1994 and 1995. At Oregon, he had another huge game with 13
receptions (a USC freshman record) for 226 yards (both career bests) and
2 TDs (35 and 16 yards)—his fourth consecutive 100-yard game and fifth
game in a row with a TD grab. He caught 8 passes for 94 yards (with an 8-
yard TD) at Stanford while setting the Pac-10 freshman season record for
receptions. He added an 18-yard TD grab (he also completed a 19-yard
pass to Colbert) against Arizona State. At UCLA, he had a game-high 6
catches for 66 yards. He had 10 catches for 169 yards (both game highs)
with 2 TDs (6 and 19 yards) against Notre Dame. Against Iowa in the
Orange Bowl, he had 6 catches for a game-high 99 yards (with an 18-yard
TD grab) to set the NCAA freshman season marks for receptions, receiving
yards and TD catches.
HIGH SCHOOL: His 2001 honors included Tom Lemming All-American,
Super Prep All-Dixie, Prep Star All-Southeast Region, St. Petersburg
Times All-Suncoast second team and Tampa Tribune All-
Hillsborough County first team as a senior wide receiver at Plant High in
Tampa (Fla.). He had 38 receptions for 789 yards (20.8 avg.) with 12 TDs
in 2001.
As a junior in 2000, he made the All-State Class 4A second team
while catching 35 passes for 803 yards (22.9 avg.) with 12 scores.
He had 28 catches for 631 yards (22.5 avg.) as a 1999 sophomore.
He also played basketball at Plant, averaging 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds
and 4.6 assists in 2002 and, as a junior in 2001, earning Tampa Tribune
All-Hillsborough County first team laurels as he averaged 14.7 points,
10.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while helping his team to the state semifinals.
