Paging No. 1 Recruit

Will Derrick Williams ever live up to the hype? Actually, yes.

You can call me crazy, but I maintain the firm belief that D-Wheels has lived up to the hype. Now I will explain why.

Just look at the seasons prior to the "Fab Four" arriving in Happy Valley. Nine losses? Seven losses? Not my idea of "down years." No, they were in fact an implosion of epic proportions. How may times in those two horrible seasons were fans screaming for a spark - even a flicker - from the offense when the team needed it most?

With the departure of Larry Johnson and his fellow seniors, Penn State was staring down the barrel of the "rebuilding year" gun. The problem was, the gun wasn't the usual pistol or rifle. The Nittany Lions were facing a 155mm Howitzer.

Two years have passed since the chosen ones signed with Penn State in 2005, and if any fan doubts their influence, they have no clue what they're talking about. The argument is whether Derrick Williams has lived up to the hype as a No. 1 recruit. I ask the question: If Williams were to sign instead with a team like Maryland, Pitt, or shock everyone like Juice Williams and sign with a disaster like Illinois, would he still face this kind of scrutiny?

I'm sorry, whether you want to believe it or not, one player cannot win every game for his team. Those were the kind of expectations thrown at Williams. Let's just say Williams did not sign with Penn State. Where would Justin King be right now? Oh yeah, that's right he would be sitting pretty down in Gainesville with a national title under his belt.

Derrick Williams did more for the program than any single player has done in a long, long time.

If you need any clarification, look back at the tapes from 2005. His ankle-breaking juke against Minnesota? The game winning catch against Northwestern? And that was only in a half-season.

Every sane fan should have known that with M-Rob, the entire secondary, and 3/4 of an excellent defensive line, the win total from 2005 could not be repeated. That said, nine wins in 2006 was gargantuan for the spirits at Penn State. Joe Paterno knew it would be a year to rebuild, and even though they would never admit it in a thousand years, the players knew it, too.

There's a reason they call it the "sophomore slump."