Tyleik Williams returning to Buckeyes for senior season
COLUMBUS — Ohio State is getting a big piece of its defense back for one more season.
After having the best year of his career, second-team All-Big Ten defensive tackle Tyleik Williams is returning to the Buckeyes for his senior season. He made the announcement on his social media pages Wednesday afternoon.
Williams was the Buckeyes top interior defensive lineman this past season, totaling 53 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three sacks to go along with five passes deflected and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. His performance landed him on numerous mid-season All-American teams before he eventually made the second-team All-Big Ten list.
After suffering an injury in training camp, Williams rebounded for his best season. And he was in better shape this year than he was in the previous two years of college football.
“Tyleik is extremely athletic, really athletic,” second-year Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said early in the regular season. “He needs the repetitions, missed a lot of reps during camp. So the more repetitions that he gets, it just seems like the better he becomes. But staying healthy is a big thing.”
Williams did stay healthy and in shape for the stretch run of the season.
Now he’ll be one of the leaders of the entire roster for next season and a big chance at a national title.
And he might be the first domino of juniors making a decision to return to school to actually fall.
“I think a lot of us all are on the same page about we don’t want to end our Ohio State careers like this,” said fellow junior defensive lineman Jack Sawyer, who hasn’t announced a decision one way or another yet. “Two tough losses. We all love it here. We love Coach [Ryan] Day. We love the staff. And sometimes, unfortunate things happen, and you don’t get the outcome you want.
“And I think it’s going to play a big decision and big factor in our decisions.”
Tyleik Williams has made the decision to return to Ohio State for his senior season. He’ll be a massive piece of the Buckeyes defense for next season.
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