Triple Threat

Mike Williams was hungry and homesick last summer as he made his way to Los Angeles International Airport for a red-eye flight back to Tampa, Fla.

Williams, an incoming freshman receiver at USC, was heading home for a brief visit after two trips to L.A. -- one spent working out informally with his future teammates and another that included workouts and freshman orientation.

At the airport, as they waited to board, Williams and his mother ventured into a burger restaurant for a bite to eat.

“I looked up, and there’s Keyshawn Johnson,” Williams recalled.

The former USC All-American, now a multimillionaire receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spent the next 30 minutes chatting with Williams as they waited for the same flight to depart.

“He basically told me that when I got out here for school and the season started, the homesickness would totally go away,” Williams said. “And he was 100% right about that.”

Williams looked right at home -- and more and more like Johnson -- last Saturday against Washington. The 6-foot-5, 223-pound Williams caught nine passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 41-21 victory that kept them in the race for the Pacific 10 Conference title. It was the third consecutive 100-yard receiving game for Williams, who broke from the mold when he spurned Florida, Florida State and Miami for what Trojan coaches sold as a golden opportunity out West.

“Michael was looking for something different and he was willing to branch out and not just follow the routine and the norm,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said. “When we saw him, we thought he could do all this stuff and maybe have a chance to be this and be that. He is all of that.”

Williams has caught 37 passes for 593 yards and seven touchdowns for the 15th-ranked Trojans, who play No. 14 Oregon in a key Pac-10 game Saturday at Eugene. Duck Coach Mike Bellotti is not looking forward to facing a Trojan receiving corps that already featured senior wide receiver Kareem Kelly and junior flanker Keary Colbert before Williams upgraded it to a triple threat.

“[Williams] runs well, he’s a big target and he can catch the ball and make the run after the catch,” Bellotti said. “It’s just another weapon in that arsenal where you can’t double anybody because they’re all very, very dangerous.”

Williams, like Colbert, did not overwhelm statistically as a high school senior. He caught 38 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns and also played safety for Plant High.

But Florida State, Miami and Florida still came calling before falling out of favor for different reasons:

Florida State? “They went out of the picture when I actually read their media guide,” Williams said. “Knowing the guys they had playing on their scout team that already had a year under their belt was enough for me to know it wasn’t the place for me.”

Miami? “They came in kind of late. They kind of asked if they had a chance. I said, ‘You’re Miami! Of course.’ But when one of my AAU basketball teammates, Ryan Moore, committed, there was no way I was going to the same school.

Florida? “I was on the verge of committing when [Coach Steve] Spurrier left. At one point after that, the offensive coordinator told my mom that they could see me playing in games against Vanderbilt and stuff like that, but that they couldn’t picture me making plays against Florida State and Miami because I wasn’t fast enough. Something crazy like that.”

USC receiver coach Lane Kiffin, whose brother-in-law played quarterback for Plant High, led the Trojans’ pitch for Williams. Kiffin won over Williams’ parents by stressing academics. He piqued Williams’ interest with a pencil and paper.

“He was drawing all kinds of plays and saying, ‘This is what Keary can run, this is what Kareem can run, and this is what you can run,’ ” Williams recalled. “I could see where I was going to fit in. Everyone else was like, ‘If you come here, you can run the fade.’ ”

Williams was the only recruit on an official visit last November when the Trojans routed UCLA, 27-0, before 88,588 at the Coliseum. In January, he chose USC over Purdue.

“The more I heard, the more USC had to offer,” Williams said. “There was a clear picture of what I could do here.”

Williams impressed during training camp and caught four passes for 56 yards in the opener against Auburn. He had seven receptions for 90 yards in a blowout victory over Colorado, but also dropped several passes, a problem that got worse in a 27-20 loss at Kansas State.

“We were there for that game,” said Williams’ mother, Kathy. “We got to talk to him before he got on the bus. He said he’s had bad games before -- but never on national TV.”

In retrospect, Williams said, the Kansas State drops provided a dose of humility. He rebounded with four catches and his first two touchdowns against Oregon State. He caught six passes and scored on a 55-yard play the next week against Washington State, then also scored against Cal, setting the stage for the performance against Washington. Williams shook off a few early drops and a fumble against the Huskies to tie Kelly’s record for receptions in a game by a freshman. He also tied the school record for touchdown catches in a game.

“After the game, the first thing he said to me was, ‘I can’t believe I fumbled,’ ” Carroll said. “That’s the kind of focus I think big time players have. They are never satisfied.”

Williams does not consider himself a pioneer, but he might be regarded as one if the Trojans continue to mine Florida talent. A few weeks after Williams chose USC, safety Mike Ross from St. Petersburg also signed with the Trojans.

“I already was thinking of coming here, or going to some other schools not in Florida,” Ross said. “When I found out Mike was going to come out here, I thought, ‘Cool, I won’t be the only Florida guy out there.’ ”

Williams would not mind returning to Florida one day as an NFL receiver. He vividly recalls boarding the plane to Tampa last summer with Johnson, who was on his way to training camp.

“I was in Row 38 and he was up in the nice leather seats,” Williams recalled. “Maybe one day, I’ll be up there too.”

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Fresh Catch

Comparing Mike Williams’ per-game averages to recent Trojan freshman standouts:

*--* REC YARDS AVG TD R. JAY SOWARD 1.8 50.7 28.2 5 KAREEM KELLY 4.5 75.2 16.7 3 MIKE WILLIAMS 5.3 84.7 16.0 1.0

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Seven Times Six

With seven touchdowns, USC freshman Mike Williams is tied for second in the Pacific 10 Conference. A look:

*--* Player School TD Shaun McDonald Arizona State 9 James Newson Oregon State 7 Devard Darling Washington State 7 Craig Bragg UCLA 7 Mike Williams USC 7 Bobby Wade Arizona 6 Samie Parker Oregon 6 Reggie Williams Washington 6

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