MIKE WILLIAMS: "I felt like I messed up for all of Buffalo."
Riverside product Williams grasps second chance
Wideout has returned to Syracuse
Mike Williams knows it was a stupid mistake. The thing is, he didn't need to cheat. Williams was having his best academic semester at Syracuse. He carried a B-plus average into a communications exam that day in the spring of 2008. He also brought illegal notes into the room. He got greedy. He wanted an A.
He got nabbed. Williams, who was coming off an All-Big East season as a sophomore receiver, was suspended in June '08 for violating the SU Academic Integrity Policy. He was out of school and ineligible for the '08 football season.
Back in Buffalo, where he had been a star at Riverside High, people figured Williams was finished, yet another city kid who had squandered his talent and failed to live up to the expectations in his hometown.
Everywhere he went in the city, people would ask what happened. Not you, Mike. You were going to be different. Williams had lived down to the stereotype, and he was crushed.
"I felt like I messed up for all of Buffalo," Williams said Wednesday. "I felt like it was all on me. My mom always said, "Get us out of here, get everybody out of here.' What she means is I can put Buffalo on the map. I felt I let her down, let Buffalo down."
Back home, Williams was the big hope. It has been decades since a player from the city public high schools made the NFL. But after catching a touchdown pass in nine straight games as a sophomore in '07, Williams seemed destined for a shot in the league.
People figured he had a chance to be a first-day draft pick if he came out after his junior year. Williams is 6-foot-2, a big, strong wideout with great hands. He was second-team All-Big East as a sophomore. The Orange had his photo on the cover of the media guide before his suspension.
"He felt terrible and embarrassed," said Bill Russell, the veteran Riverside coach who has been a mentor to Williams. "He was insecure about his future. It was a traumatic experience for him. It's tough when you're floating along. The higher you are and the more status you have, the harder the fall."
After the suspension, it was speculated that Williams would transfer to a Division I-AA school, play right away, and enter the '09 draft. He had other ideas. Williams felt he owed it to Syracuse, and to Buffalo, to get it right. So he spent a year at Springfield (Mass.) Technical Community College, where he got the three B's required for readmission to SU.
Early in January, with tears in his eyes, Williams returned to SU. He met with the dean, filed his paperwork and resumed his career as a top D-I student-athlete. Williams is spending the summer on campus. He's running and lifting weights, conducting seven-on-seven workouts with his offensive teammates, and taking a class in sports management.
"I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life," he said. "I guess it's because I'm so focused right now. I'm so motivated. Extra work, extra time. My teammates are starting to call me "One More,' because I do one more of everything. People don't get second chances. I feel blessed. I'm not going to give this up for anything in the world."
Williams is close with Jason Rowe, the former Traditional basketball star. Rowe didn't finish his college career for academic reasons. He's in his eighth year as a successful pro, playing in Italy. Rowe used to tell Williams not to repeat his mistakes. Now it's about recovering from them.
It was Williams' mother, Mary, who inspired him the most. He speaks with her every day. She is always ready with some pertinent quote. Mary always told Mike to finish what he started. He felt he owed it to himself, and to SU, to go back.
"She was mad," Williams said. "But she was so confident I'd get back. Even I had doubts. But she kept saying, "This is going to be easy for you. You're going to learn from this and come back stronger.' Everybody thought I was going to enter the draft or go somewhere else. She just knew.
"There's a statistic here at Syracuse. Once football players get suspended, they don't come back. They were saying I wasn't coming back. People think I'm one of the statistics. It's time to prove them wrong. I'm not a statistic. I'm my own guy."
The Orange would love it if Williams improved on his stats from '07, when had 60 catches, 837 yards and 10 TDs. SU's new coach, Doug Marrone, pushes him hard, expecting more. Williams said he needs that sort of coach.
Russell said Williams was always a tenacious worker. Every drill was a contest, a personal challenge. Coaches loved him. He's a respectful kid who says "Yes, sir" and "No, sir."
"One of his college coaches was talking about Mike's practice habits," Russell said. "He said he doesn't practice, he plays games. He's just tenacious. These city kids have various challenges growing up. If they're strong, it makes them more resilient and they keep on fighting."
It was sad to see a kid with Williams' drive become a symbol of the fallen Buffalo athlete. But he's back and fighting. He'd love to play in the NFL. But he's loving college again. He says he intends to play two more years at SU.
"To this day, people don't know I'm back in school," he said. "My mom still gets comments every day like, "He could have made it.'"
Just you wait and see, Mary tells them.
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