EXCLUSIVE: MSU Football Commit Ushers in Senior Season With Eye-Opening Performance
Nobody is perfect. Michigan State 2025 in-state commit Bryson Williams comes close, though.
Williams might be the best athlete in the state. I first spoke with him at the state finals for track, where he was competing. As a football player, he does it all -- safety, wide receiver, has the potential to play running back. Recruiting sites bestowed that two-way title of "athlete" on Williams. Which was fitting.
Williams is also, as it put in the movie "Good Will Hunting," wicked smaht. He could have gone to Harvard, Rice, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth or Yale.
When speaking with him, you get the sense, "This kid killed the ACT, didn't he?" No, he isn't pedantic. It's just something as obvious as his athletic prowess.
Of which he has bunches of in that 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame of his. He used it to colloquially torch Portage Northern in Orchard Lake St. Mary's season opener. Williams did it all. Receiving touchdown. Kick return touchdown. Was all over the field on defense.
I spoke with Williams, who broke it down in his typically eloquent fashion.
The first touchdown.
"We went out there in 11-personnel (three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back), saw what they were giving us as a look on offense, and they were doubling me in the slot, so they moved me to tight end, or H-back, because I can block, too," Williams said. "They just put me on a little flip pass and I trust my receivers blocking, so, pretty easy. Caught the ball, didn't really have to do much."
Of course Williams can block. What can't he do?
The second touchdown.
"It was really suposed to be an onside kick. We had our hands team out there," Williams said. "They kicked it too hard, I thought it was going to roll out of bounds, but it stayed in bounds. And as soon as I picked up the ball, I got so happy because nobody's kicking the ball to me. Just pick it up and do what I do. I saw an opening, made one cut and then had blockers in front of me, told them to block somebody ... scored a touchdown."
Williams had told me previously that the Spartans want to use him as a Deebo Samuel-type player, doing everything on offense. Put the ball in his hands.
Makes sense.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE