Pitarresi: Williams' departure hurts SU

 

Mike Williams has quit the Syracuse football team.

 

I’m not sure what his reason was, but I’ll bet you’ll read about it in the national media. For years now, every time there is a controversy involving an SU football or basketball player, the local media get stony silence from the coaches and administrators, and then someone blabs to ESPN or Sports Illustrated.

 

But …

 

I don’t care why Mike quit. I just know this is not a smart move for him and it’s a big blow to the team. Williams is SU’s biggest talent, and I think he would have been no worse than a second-round selection in next year’s NFL draft. I’m not sure what his quitting does to those prospects, but I’m certain it can’t be good. Meanwhile, the Orange are robbed of their most explosive player and the only one who has shown he can stretch a defense vertically.

 

Williams has been an obvious talent since he arrived from the mean streets of Buffalo in 2006. He can run, jump, catch and block. Without him, SU is much less dynamic. Maybe one of the other receivers can take up the slack, but SU has seldom has shown the desire to go deep even with Williams in the lineup. Without him, I think they might be condemned to the low-risk football that won the Akron game but is unlikely to work against Pittsburgh and the remaining Big East teams on the schedule.

 

I don’t know what this is all about with Williams. He was out of school last year because of academic issues. When I spoke to him in the spring, he seemed a much more mature young man, someone who learned his lesson, and knew what the score was. He said he had grown up, and it really seemed like it. And he was having a really good season until he was suspended for the Akron game last week for violating team rules. Maybe one thing led to another and he didn’t want to deal with school or discipline any more.

 

The bottom line is the decision is bad for Mike Williams, and worse for the SU football team.