Dedication pays for late bloomer

Dedication pays for late-blooming Bears pick Williams

Dale Weiner has a message for his backups at Catholic High in Baton Rouge, La., and it's a lesson they can sink their teeth into, not just another cliche you hear coaches say at the end of practice every day.

''Chris Williams is truly an example of a person being ready when he was called on,'' Weiner said. ''I've always used him when talking to kids about not giving up, not settling for being a backup and taking practice seriously or studying the scouting report because they're not a starter. Chris is a beautiful example of that.''

The Bears' first-round pick wasn't even a starter when his senior season began in 2002. The left tackle ahead of him was injured, and Williams took the job after the jamboree game to open the year. When college coaches came to recruit eventual Houston Texans safety Brandon Harrison, who wound up going to Stanford, they had one question.

''Who's that kid, No. 71?'' they asked when watching tape.

Williams, Weiner told them. He was 6-5, maybe 240 pounds at the time, but stood out cleaning out defensive backs downfield on the sweeps and counters Williams led in the Catholic running game.

''They'd ask, 'Golly, is he a senior?' '' Weiner said. ''He just jumped out at you. He was a real team guy, and he made himself ready.''

LSU coach Les Miles, then at Oklahoma State, pressed to land Williams. Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech and Northwestern got involved. He wanted to play in the SEC, and Vanderbilt was a good fit for a good student who graduated in December with a degree in human and organizational development.

Williams grew an inch and a half in school and added some 70 pounds to his frame. While he didn't start immediately at Vanderbilt, he's in position to step in right away with the Bears.

''I don't know if I anticipate that,'' Williams said. ''But I feel like they drafted me to come in and fill that need, so I'm definitely coming in and I'm trying to start.''

He'll give Weiner a little more to add to his speech about persistence now that he's a first-round pick.

''The kid is just a great story,'' Weiner said. ''He just got better and better and better.''

* Career highlights: Made 33 starts for the Commodores and became their first first-team all-SEC pick last season since Will Wolford in 1984. Allowed two sacks in his last 1,558 snaps. Became a full-time starter at left tackle as a junior after starting the final nine games at left guard in 2005. Had 181 knockdowns, 21 resulting in touchdowns over the last two seasons while averaging 84.9 percent in blocking consistency. Co-captain as a senior on a line that allowed only 17 sacks. Surrendered only four quarterback pressures in his final two seasons. Came to Vanderbilt in 2003 as a 245-pounder and grew into his frame.
* The skinny: Has the opportunity to start as a rookie. Fills a great need for a club that hasn't had success with a homegrown left tackle since Jimbo Covert was the sixth overall pick in 1983. Williams has terrific athletic ability and quickness, good footwork and sound technique. Effective working to the second level. Has good arm length and is explosive with a hand punch and quick. Some question his intensity. Needs to get stronger in the lower and upper body. Did only 21 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds at the combine as opposed to 37 reps by No. 1 pick Jake Long. But Bears like his mobility. A natural fit for the left side because he is left-handed.
* Jerry Angelo says: ''He's a giant, low body fat. This was the best year of offensive tackles that I've seen in my tenure in the league and I think that is a collective opinion around the league. This was a very, very good year and just by happenstance that was the position of need for us, so I feel very fortunate.''