“You can tell when somebody wants to block me or somebody doesn’t,” said Williams, who has 34 total tackles, including eight for loss, along with 1.5 sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. “It’s just a different feeling. You don’t really feel too much of him trying to block you. So, that’s probably the main thing in my experience."

Defensive tackles coach Ron Burton said you can tell when somebody doesn’t want to block or go against an offensive lineman when it gets to the fourth or fifth play of a drive.

Burton said Williams and junior defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk never get tired, which makes it harder for backups Naquan Jones and Gerald Owens to get field time.

“He has such a great motor and I think that's just one of the strongest keys of this young man,” Burton said to reporters Wednesday. “He continues to play, he never wants to leave the field.”

Michigan State (5-3, 3-2 in Big Ten) will need Williams’ motor, as the top-ranked Spartan run defense takes on the 11th best rushing offense (246.3 yards per game) in Maryland (5-3, 3-2) at noon Saturday in College Park. 

The Terrapins rushing offense has four tailbacks (Anthony McFarland, Ty Johnson, Tayon Fleet-Davis and Javon Leake) combining for 1,426 yards on 192 carries and 13 touchdowns, with McFarland (67 carries, 497 yards and two touchdowns), Johnson (61 carries, 468 yards and three touchdowns) and Fleet-Davis (52 carries, 255 yards and three touchdowns) leading the way.

But Burton said it’s not only the running backs that make this offense (31.6 points per game) go.

“We haven't even started to talk about their veteran offensive line, number one, and their wide receivers,” Burton said. “So the complete group of 11 that's on the field is a big part of that, but I think it's the athleticism of the group that keeps you on your toes, because they all can run the ball and they all can catch it.”

Williams said the Terrapins put many formations on the field but run the same plays, which forces the defense to focus on trusting its techniques and discipline.

“Lot of jet motions, a lot of things that take our eyes and trying to make us undisciplined,” linebacker Joe Bachie said. “If we can stay disciplined and true to who we are as a defense, it’s going to be a fun game for us.”

For the Spartans, staying true to their defense means stopping the run, which Bachie said starts with Williams, Mike Panasiuk (6-foot-4, 285 pounds), Jones (6-foot-4, 339 pounds) and Owens (6-foot-2, 310 pounds), who Bachie said are “making a ton of plays.”

“Rae and Mike, they’re beasts in there,” Bachie said. “They’re holding off double teams and making their own plays. I live for guys like that in front of me.”

Burton said Williams and Panasiuk also want to stay on the field as much as possible, but their backups have earned reps as well.

"Those guys (Jones and Owens) are averaging about 20 plays a game right now, and I wish we could get them more, but our two starters want to be in there as much as they can," Burton said. "They have been a factor in number one in making sure we play strong all the time and when you're on the field being able to give maximum effort. Those guys have come in and put themselves in position technically to gain those reps and last weekend they had half a sack a piece and some pressures and some ball disruptions. So it's been good."

That amount of playing time for Williams helps him keep improving on the strengths and weaknesses of being a defensive tackle, and what he can do with his size, something Burton has noticed since Williams was redshirted as a freshman in 2015.

“Playing with better pad level, always a key for him, and utilizing his hands and understanding what the offense is trying to do to you more now and that has come with experience and now he can play that much faster so you get to see his athleticism a lot more,” Burton said. “What he continues to do now is gain the experience of what is expected for him at the next level and this will be a great segue for him so he continues to get stronger.”