Nebraska Football wideout Mike Williams needs to work on one particular skill.
There is no doubt that Nebraska football Senior wide receiver Mike Williams is going to be a huge part of the offense in 2019. With the departure of Stanley Morgan Jr., Williams has a chance to be one of the top targets for quarterback Adrian Martinez in the 2019 season.
At first glance, he seems like the type of player that has no flaws. He has good hands, he is fast, and he is not afraid to step up and make the big play when needed. However, now being one of the top leaders of the receiving unit, he is going to have to do a little bit more than just catch the football.
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One of the skills he is working on this spring ball is his blocking techniques. That is crucial, I can’t tell you how important it is for a receiver to know how to block. Having been on a football team myself, I can tell you that the last thing you want to do as a receiver is leave your fellow wideout out to dry courtesy of a big hit from a defender. If that happens, you will have some very upset teammates in short order. In my estimation, blocking is one of the most important skills of being a receiver. If Williams can get that down, that would be awesome. Especially on a screen pass or even a run off the edge courtesy of the running back, Williams could definitely help out Nebraska football there.
It appears that blocking is one of the things he is working on this spring ball. According to a report from Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star ($), physicality is going to be an important part of Williams’s game in 2019.
"“I told him from Day One that what’s going to keep him off the field is his blocking, his physicality,” NU receivers coach Troy Walters said Monday. “We’re not going to put guys on the outside that are not going to block, that are not going to be physical.”"
It sounds like he’ll be fighting for his job if he can’t block. I think that is a good precedent to set by the Nebraska football offensive coaches. Generally speaking, one block can make the difference between a five-yard gain and a 10-yard gain. As a football program, you need to have at least one receiver who is not afraid to get physical with defenders and can put their body into each block. If Williams is able to be that guy for the program, he would have a multitude of skill sets.
If you can have a bunch of wideouts who are good at one specific skill, one thing that you can count on from each of them, that would be ideal. Nebraska football certainly has that with a bunch of their receivers. That should bode well for Williams in the 2019 season, one that he among others wants to make the most of.