Behind the Facemask: Mike Williams
August 4, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla.–They are stories of perseverance. Stories about growing up, becoming men and being a part of a family. One-by-one, we hear from them. These are the Miami Hurricanes…
Mike Williams | Defensive Back | Graduate | Melbourne, Fla.
When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a hard-working person, but a goofy guy. I’m one of the goofiest guys you’ll ever meet once you get past the quiet stage. I’ve just been driven by my family my whole life. I can see in myself an image of my mom and dad. I’m just a hard worker.
I knew I could play football at this level probably during my sophomore year in high school. My freshman year I focused mainly on basketball. My mom didn’t really let me play football. She was one of those more traditional moms who said, “My baby’s not going to get hit.” Until my sophomore year in high school I played both sports, and I was only about 130 pounds or so. I really knew after my sophomore year, when I had a good season on the varsity level, and I started to get recruited. That’s when I decided to focus on football.
Transition has been different. It’s been smooth, but it’s different. From Wake Forest to here, it’s a different atmosphere. The workouts have been intense. They’ve been better, but require a lot more hard work, and that’s been a good thing.
Playing football has given me motivation and the focus it takes to play this sport. Football is one of those things where you have to be self-motivated to succeed. You can’t rely on somebody else to get you up every day, to go lift weights every day, or to do this or do that. You have to find something within you that is going to make you play that much better and work that much harder. I would say motivation.
At Wake Forest we went through a workout in the morning and we’d be done. Coming here, we have two workouts a day and on top of that, you’re working out with NFL guys you grew up watching on television. It goes back to motivation for me. These guys at one point were doing the exactly same things, they were in our shoes, going to classes, and now they’re making millions. It’s motivation to see that this stuff does pay off, and if you do everything like you’re supposed to, you’ll reap the benefits one day. There’s an awe factor, but it also makes you level-headed seeing those guys.
I want success in any facet. It could be in football, or life, or anything. I want to be successful in anything I come across.
I have nothing. I have a lot, but I have nothing, that’s how I look at it. I’m thankful for what I have, but I want more. I’m a self-motivated person. I want it all. Whatever plan God has for me, I have faith.
My favorite movie is easily “The Town.” I love action movies. I could watch that movie 100 times over.
My teammates are some of the funniest guys I’ve ever met in my life. They can joke from 5 a.m. workouts all the way until 10 p.m. workouts. They will not stop. It’s all in good will, and I wouldn’t trade my teammates for the world. They’re something else, man. (laughs)
Coming to Miami was something I had to ease into. I didn’t know much. When everybody sees a new guy, they’re always joking with him and stuff like that. So when I first got here I didn’t really know anybody. After my first week, though, it was like haymakers going back and forth, and it’s been all love since then.
The U really is a family. I didn’t realize how serious it was at first. I used to see guys like Ray Lewis go on television and talk about the brotherhood, talk about how everyone had to do this or that as Hurricanes. I always thought that was just for television. I used to think it was talking for the cameras. When I got here and saw it myself, the NFL players coming back, they’re talking to us like we’re their teammates. The players are around each other 24/7 and I can say we legitimately don’t get tired of each other. We may have our arguments and stuff like that, but it was different at Wake. You had your close-knit friends and all that, but this is different. This is a brotherhood. I could probably call any NFL player right now to talk to him and ask him about press coverage or man-to-man, and the ability to do that right now is something you can’t find at any other school. It’s something special.
When I played football as a kid, I pretended to be Peerless Price. He went to Tennessee. A lot of people might not remember him. When I was in after school care, the kid throwing the ball would pretend to be Peyton Manning and I would catch balls pretending to be Peerless Price. I always loved him growing up for some reason, he was my favorite player.
My favorite book is “Meat Market.” When I was reading it, it kind of helped me through recruiting. It was about recruiters and what they do and how they think. I used to be one of those people who coaches would call from different programs, maybe Division III or Division II, and I would feel bad telling them, “No, I’m not interested.” I felt like I owed them something. Reading that book made me feel that they care, but they don’t care as much as you think they do. They have 200 other people they’re recruiting just as much as you.
After a game, the first statistic I look at is pass break-ups. In your head, you know if you had an interception or not. As a defensive back, the first thing I go to is how many pbu’s they gave me. As a corner, it’s something you have to have, break-ups and interceptions.
Coach Williams is a straight-forward guy. When he was talking to me about coming here, he was straight-forward from the jump. He was telling me how it is, and he’s a down-to-earth person, he always keeps it as real as possible. He knows when to joke, but he’s more of a serious guy that gets down to business. He’s a cool guy, and someone you can learn a lot from. He’s real smart. He’s one of the main reasons I came here. He has the experience, and with all the things he’s been through, he has a track record for success.
We are all hungry. As a team, I haven’t been here in the past, but I’ve heard a lot about what people had to say. It doesn’t go completely unheard when people say we’re not living up to expectations. We feel like somebody has to stop us now. We know this is our year. We have the best defense we’ve had in years, we have the experience, the seniors, the leadership, and we’re treating it like it’s time to play.
Playing cornerback is about being one-on-one. A lot of people know the Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis plays like he has his own island, and it really is truly like an island out there. The defensive line has help from the linebackers, the linebackers have help from safeties, but corners are out in a secluded area where, if something happens, it’s all on you. No one is there to save your tackles or your missed interceptions. No one is there to save anything, so it’s about not messing up, but also about making plays. The motivation of man coverage, about being one-on-one, is what makes cornerback the position it is.
Make sure to check in for a new Behind the Facemask profile each and everyday in preparation for the Hurricane football season opener. For a review of all past profiles, check out Behind the Facemask Central.
