Sports

Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Williams comes up big for Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was third-and-8 and Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams appeared bottled up at the line of scrimmage. The television camera was fixed on the scrum — before jerking to the right while Arizona players looked on in bewilderment.

Williams had bounced off three defenders, sneaked through a tiny hole and was 13 yards downfield.

While Williams’ 77-yard run on Sunday was the most talked about, this shorter run is what has defined Williams, who in the victory over the Cardinals became the Panthers’ all-time leading rusher with 3,352 yards.

“It’s crazy. I tell him it’s because he’s so short,” Panthers fullback Brad Hoover said Thursday, smiling. “No, he’s just a good back. He’s a tough, hard, physical runner. Real shifty, has unbelievable balance and just vision to hit holes and make things happen.”

The 5-foot-9 Williams surpassed DeShaun Foster’s team rushing record in 185 fewer carries. A year after bursting onto the scene with a single-season record of 1,515 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns, the 2006 first-round pick had his best game this season in a surprising win over the Cardinals, recording 158 of Carolina’s 270 yards rushing.

Yet while Williams is often the loudest guy in the locker room when breaking down horror films or making fun of teammates and reporters, he’s soft spoken when asked about himself.

“I mean it’s one of those things that in a couple years or five or six years it’ll be Jonathan Stewart sitting here talking about breaking the record or some other tailback,” Williams said, referring to his backfield mate.