Even after seven days of grueling practices at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the smile never left Lance Williams’ face.
The Hawaii freshman linebacker isn’t in line for a ton of playing time this year, aside from some special-teams duties. Learning — new schemes, new techniques, new teammates — dominates his thought processes, not how much action he is to receive on game days.
But who says learning isn’t fun?
"You know, he’s somebody who’s just passionate about what he does," linebackers coach Tony Tuioti said of the happy-go-lucky Williams. "He’s excited. You can tell the kids who are grateful to have an opportunity to play football. He shows that in the way he practices."
The 2011 Farrington graduate absorbed all he could since the spring, when he came on with the Warriors as a grayshirt. Besides getting feedback from Tuioti and defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer, he’s turned to the more experienced UH linebackers — Art Laurel, George Daily-Lyles and TJ Taimatuia among them — for pointers alone the way, never afraid to ask questions.
Williams, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, looks and plays the part athletically. He was a beast for the Govs his senior season, when he was named Star-Advertiser all-state honorable mention in football and anchored the paint for Farrington’s 2011 Division II basketball championship team. He went by "Lancelot" for most of his prep career, although Lance is his actual title.
Adjusting to the speed and intensity of Division I college football is no snap, however. He’s seen the most action at weakside linebacker, but he can appear at strongside in certain packages.
"That transition to me, I have a couple times that I struggle, but you know I learn from it," said Williams. "I learn from Coach Tony, from Coach T.K."
He assumes the demeanor of a coach watching drills.
"Fast, fast!" he said, snapping his fingers while mimicking what they might tell him. "Move your hands!"
Tuioti admires Williams’ humility as he steadily picks things up, like using less shoulders and more hands. The position coach has also stressed on-field communication, as linebackers are the link between the defensive line and the secondary.
"He has a better understanding (now) of what we want to do defensively," Tuioti said. "He’s coming along. He’s going to be a really good player for us here in the next four years that he has to play."
Williams mentioned the possibility of redshirting this year (after which he would still have four seasons) but that seems unlikely. Tuioti said he will be needed sooner rather than later, primarily for special-teams work.
"Coach Chow talks about it all the time, we gotta find the best 11 guys to be on the field, whether it’s the kickoff, punt return. He’s on quite a few teams for us," Tuioti said.
Williams, facing some of the huge C-17 cargo aircraft near where the team practiced on Saturday, offered a final earnest smile as he considered the outlook of his fledgling college career.
"If the team needs help, I’m always here," he said. "It’s my first year, you know what I mean? I’m not expected to play, but I’m expected to work hard and make the best out of my team. … I don’t want to be selfish. I just want to give it up to my team and make them better. From there on I can just work hard and see where the plays fall."
