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Get to know your Orange man - No. 6, S Rodney Williams

The redshirt sophomore will contend for playing time at safety, if he can stay on the field.

By John Orsenigo
Syracuse v Florida State Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images

Name: Rodney Williams

Position: Safety

Year: Redshirt Sophomore

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 186

Hometown: Cherry Hill, NJ

High School: Cherry Hill West

2015 Stats: Williams played in nine games at free safety, recording 17 tackles. He missed the other three games due to injury.

2016 Projections: Listed as the backup strong safety to Kielan Whitner on the Syracuse Orange post-spring depth chart, Williams has, unfortunately, struggled with injury for much of preseason camp. Once he gets back on the field, he figures to threaten for playing time at safety.

How’d He Get Here: Williams chose SU over offers from Temple and Buffalo.

What’d Recruiting Sites Say?: Rated three stars by Scout.com and ESPN.com, and two stars by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com.

Money Quote: In an interview during last summer’s preseason camp, Williams noted how much his technique and understanding of the game have improved since arriving on campus:

“I would say, first, I didn’t really come in with much technique. That’s the first thing. I’m just a football player, so I would just go after the ball. But now, since I’ve developed my technique, and trusted my eyes a bit more, and know what’s going on on the field and trusting my teammates...understanding what technique to use and when to use it, I’ve definitely gotten much better since I came here.”

Links of Wonder: During last offseason, Nate Mink of Syracuse.com wrote an article about Williams being in line for a starting role last season. It included some good quotes from Williams talking about how he needed to improved coming off his injury-shortened first season at SU.

Twitterfeed: Williams doesn’t appear to be on Twitter. Good for him.

Tweets of Wonder: The Daily Orange has some insight on the battle for starting strong safety.

What Does the Coaching Staff Think of Him?: Right now, they’re probably more focused on how to get and keep him on the field than anything else.

Interesting Nugget O’Interest: Williams was all over the field as a high school player for Cherry Hill West. He played quarterback, safety, kicker, kick returner and punt returner. He was pretty much on the field for every play.

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