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'Old' Northern Illinois LB Larry Williams sacks 'new' MAC West Division Weekly honor

DeKALB, IL --- Say, who was that No. 26? Looked pretty familiar, you know? Kind of reminiscent of Northern Illinois University football linebacker Larry Williams. Just flying around all over, making tackles and quarterback sacks left and right. Reme




September 16, 2002

‘OLD’ NORTHERN ILLINOIS LB LARRY WILLIAMS SACKS ‘NEW’ MAC WEST DIVISION WEEKLY HONOR
DeKALB, IL --- Say, who was that No. 26? Looked pretty familiar, you know? Kind of reminiscent of Northern Illinois University football linebacker Larry Williams. Just flying around all over, making tackles and quarterback sacks left and right. Remember him? What’s that? Oh, that was Larry Williams.

You bet it was Larry Williams as in the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week for his performance versus the University of Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. MAC commissioner Rick Chryst made the announcement from league headquarters Monday (September 16).

Williams (Chicago / Dunbar) ran roughshod on the No. 22-ranked Badgers, piling up a season-best and team-high 13 tackles (10 solo and three assists). Most impressive of all, the 5-foot-11, 227-pound Huskie co-captain collected three of the modern-day team-record 10 sacks for 27 yards in losses. No. 26 also made two fumble-cause hits during the heartbreaking 24-21 setback in Madison.

“That’s as well as I’ve seen Larry play in a long time,” said Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak. “Saturday against Wisconsin, that was the Larry Williams of old. He was flying around, making plays, similar to his sophomore year when he made First-Team All-MAC. He played great at Wisconsin. We’re all very proud of him. Those three sacks all came in the fourth quarter during crunch time.”

Williams spearheaded the strong Northern Illinois defensive effort that limited Wisconsin to only 275 yards total offense and 68 yards in team rushing. Preseason All-America candidate Anthony Davis, who led the Big Ten Conference in rushing with 1,466 yards as a freshman last season, was held to a career-low 49 ground yards in 14 carries.

The 13-hit outing at Wisconsin marked the 17th twin-digit tackle outing in Williams’ 36-game career. With the 13 stops last week, No. 26 now ranks No. 11 on the all-time Huskie Hit List with 335 career tackles. In 2001, Williams tied Northern Illinois teammate Nick Duffy (Wheaton / Warrenville / South) for the No. 3 spot nationally in solo stops (92).

For Williams, the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week award was the second of his career. The first happened vs. South Florida last fall.

Other MAC Players of the Week honorees included Bowling Green State wide receiver Robert Redd on offense and Ball State punter Reggie Hodges on special teams in the West, plus Kent State quarterback Josh Cribbs on offense, Kent State defensive back Nashville Dyer on defense, and Ohio placekicker Kevin Kerr on special teams in the East.

For Northern Illinois, Williams’ honor marked the third Mid-Am Player of the Week award in football this season. Tailback Thomas Hammock (Fort Wayne, IN / Bishop Luers) and placekicker Steve Azar (Colorado Springs, CO / Highlands Ranch) received the league nod in Week No. 1 vs. Wake Forest.

(For further information, please contact Mike Korcek)

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