Experience Biggest Key for Lucas, Williams

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Two names you might not hear too much are secondary members Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams. Both Lucas and Williams have played in every game of their collegiate career, although not all of them have been at their current positions. Williams spent his freshman season on the other side of the ball as a receiver, where he hauled in 10 receptions for 97 yards. Lucas played cornerback for three years before making the switch to safety for his final season.

“Playing receiver, that was my chance to get used to the speed at the college level and get used to the atmosphere,” said Williams. “I watched a lot of older guys, including Allen Robinson, and saw how they had that ‘pro’ mentality and were perfectionists.”

“I think freshman year helped me get used to the speed and the physicality of the game,” said Lucas. “As I progressed throughout my career, the game has slowed down for me.”

Making the position switch from receiver to corner is a tough transition for any player. Through hard work and attention to detail, Williams was able to make a smooth transition and pick up the position quickly.

“I did a lot of film study in the spring and summer. I did a lot of extra reps and worked with other cornerbacks fixing technique. I think being my biggest critic has helped me out a lot,” said Williams.

Lucas also made a position switch, but credits his knowledge of the defense as to why the switch wasn’t much of a challenge.

“My knowledge and comfort level with the defense was very important for the switch as well as already playing safety before. I am very familiar with the position, so it wasn’t a tough transition,” said Lucas.

Playing across the field from each other for two years has built chemistry between the two. From that experience comes communication, where both seniors emphasized that skill has developed the most over the years.

“Our chemistry level is high. The communication aspect is definitely the biggest difference between the older and younger players,” said Williams.

Earning playing time freshman year has allowed both veterans to learn valuable lessons both on and off the field. Watching the guys above them and modeling their play after the upperclassmen has allowed both Lucas and Williams to instill wisdom they learned to the younger members of the secondary.

“We tell the young guys to watch how we do things and do it how we do. When we were freshman, we watched the older guys and watched how they took control, which is what we wanted to do when we got to that point,” said Williams. “Now that it’s our time, we have to show them the way and be a leader to the team.”

“We are both able to lead by example and share stories with the younger guys how we came up in the system and how we were able to get playing time,” said Lucas. “We also tell them the sacrifices you have to make as a player to get where you want to be.”

The position switch of Lucas now has both seniors playing on the same side of the field. This is very beneficial for Lucas and Williams since they know how each other likes to play certain situations and now they can both communicate what adjustments need to be made.

“With [Lucas] being on the same side as me, he can see the same route combination and we can play a different technique. We see some of the same things, which really helps out our communication,” said Williams.

“I know what type of player Trevor [Williams] is and he [Williams] knows what type of player I am. Especially playing on the same side of the field now, we are able to communicate and cover for each other more,” said Lucas. “Our communication level is very good and we both have a good idea of the defense.”

The best word that can be used to describe the play of Lucas and Williams is consistency. The duo has combined to knock away 37 pass attempts during their two years of playing across from each other and they are poised to continue that success in their senior seasons.

“I think experience, especially on my end, getting used to playing corner and getting comfortable with the position,” said Williams. “I would watch [Lucas] and see the things that work for him and implement his play style into my play style.”

“We take pride in nobody having 100 yards receiving against us and I think that’s very important,” said Lucas. “There are great athletes in this conference and it’s a challenge to stop players from catching balls and stop quarterbacks from throwing the ball. We watch film and we want to be ready every time we face an opponent.”