Get to Know Your Orange Man: #46, LB Lakiem Williams

Name: Lakiem Williams

Position: Linebacker

Year: Senior

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 233

Hometown: Tacoma, Wash.

High School: Spanaway Lake

2018 stats: Williams played in seven games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams for the Orange while tallying four tackles, three of which came as a member of the kickoff unit.

2019 projections: The Syracuse Orange have once again graduated their entire starting linebacker corps. Williams is listed as the starting middle linebacker on the spring depth chart and should hold that spot into the start of the season.

How’d he get here?: He spent two years at Butte College before choosing Syracuse for his final two college seasons over Cal, Houston, Kansas and Toledo.

What’d recruiting sites say?: A solid three starts from 247Sports.

Money quote: Lakiem told Syracuse.com that a big key to his developing has been to think more critically about his assignments as opposed to just doing it:

“At first, I saw myself just trying to learn on the fly. Learn it just so I can be on the field and play. Once I sat down and was really like, ‘I want to know why I’ve got to be right here and why he’s doing this in this type of situation. Once I started figuring that out, that’s when everything started getting (better).’”

What movie would Dino Babers recommend for him?: Williams would probably be a fan of the 1999 classic “10 Things I Hate About You”, which was filmed at Stadium High School in his hometown of Tacoma.

Interesting nugget o’interest: Williams was apparently a pretty good running back in high school, having once rushed for 1,000 yards.

Let’s get a good look at ya: The dude is strong