MSU senior fullback Delton Williams has been through a lot during the last 13 months.
A little more than a year ago, Williams was arrested for flashing a pistol at another driver on MSU’s campus.
Williams later plead guilty to a reduced weapons charge in late April, but his mistake led to his immediate suspension from the football team until August 2015 and also the forfeit of scholarship for an entire year.
Williams did return to action for an MSU squad, which went 12-2 in 2015, as he carried the ball 26 times for 56 yards and a touchdown in MSU’s run to the the College Football Playoff.
Now, as Williams maneuvers his way through his final season of spring practices in East Lansing, where he’s made the change to fullback and is also expected to regain his scholarship during the summer semester, Williams is seeing things with a new outlook.
“I’m not mad at anything that I went through,” Williams said. “I wish I could go through them differently ... the positions that I got put in, as I know now, I’d go through them in a different way, but they molded me to be who I am today and the consequences and stuff I had to go through. I really appreciate Coach (Dantonio) giving me another chance to be here, because he stuck with me to be strong at heart. He could have gave up on me and by him sticking with me, that goes to show this is my family.”
In terms of his changing from the running back position to fullback, Williams relishes at the opportunity and said the transition hasn’t been too hard.
“I’m a rowdy guy, I ain’t even going to lie to you guys,” Williams joked with the media Tuesday evening. “I’m rowdy guy. I like to hit. I like the contact. I like to deliver the blow. Sometimes I get knocked down but hey, I’ve been knocked down all my life. I love the contact, though, so the fullback position, it’s for me.”
MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio said while transition might take some time, he expressed his belief Williams can get the job done.
“You know, he’s making the transition right now, and again it’s a slow process,” Dantonio said. “Still can play tailback and still does at times, but I think that he’s got gifts. There’s no question about that.”
Not only is Williams embracing his new role at fullback, but he’s also settled into a role as one of the leaders of the team. Williams said he tries to not only use his own past experiences as an example, but also hopes to serve as a motivational force to his teammates.
“I’m the guy running around talking trash to everybody,” Williams said. “But everybody knows it’s love. It’s nothing personal. When I’m in the weight room and I see guys don’t got that much weight on their bar and I know they’re capable of doing more, I’m one of them guys that’s going to pull their card and be like, ‘That’s not enough’ and not caring about what they’re going to say or anything, because I want them to do the same thing to me. I want everybody to do better.”
But no matter what, Williams said he is thankful for every opportunity he has.
“I’m thankful a lot,” Williams said. “I could be one of them guys they sent back at home and didn’t have a scholarship. I appreciate everything. Sometimes I get down on myself, be like, ‘Dang, I could be doing this. I could be doing that.’ But at the end of the day, I’m blessed.”
