With the much-anticipated matchup against No. 2 Clemson closing in, junior starting running back Trayveon Williams is prepared to match his performance in the season opener that earned him SEC offensive player of the week.
Williams excelled against the Northwestern State defensive line, finishing with three touchdowns and rushing for 240 yards to make him the 20th member from A&M to collect 2,000 career rushing yards.
Regarding his successful week, Williams said he — along with the offense — are strictly keeping their eyes on the prize and they have no plans of stopping.
“I’m pleased with the offensive line but at the same time we’re not going to get comfortable at all,” Williams said. “We won, that’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re just doing our job. Now we have to move on to next week. We can’t get comfortable, we can’t reminisce on last week. We got a new opponent, a new guy coming into town. We just got to stick to our job, stick to what we are doing and go out there and compete.”
Not only will A&M face one of the best offenses in the nation, but they will also try and stack up against four defensive All-Americans on Saturday. Despite the heavy toll this week brings, head coach Jimbo Fisher said this is just another game.
“It is another game. It is to us,” Fisher said. “One win, one loss, whatever happens you have to approach it that way. Your opponent doesn’t matter. You have to create the practice habits from within yourself and the preparation habits.”
For Williams, this game is not about competing against fellow running back and star player for Clemson Travis Etienne, but rather an opportunity for the team to play against top-notch competition.
“It’s a good opportunity,” Williams said. “Basically, when you are able to go up against a top-notch defense, that’s a great opportunity. Just going out there and competing. It’ll be a great game for the whole team. I don’t think of it as running back against running back. It’ll be a good opportunity for us as a team.”
Senior offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland said a big part of this game will depend on how they can help the running backs get down the field to make plays against the Clemson defense.
“That’s always going to be a key is just implementing that run game,” Sutherland said. “Being able to get the ball moving, that way we can open some stuff out for the skill guys and let them do their thing. We’ll have a big emphasis on that.”
Williams is confident in his blockers. He said the hard work put in by the linemen during the spring and summer practices is starting to show out on the field in a huge way.
“The offensive line did great,” Williams said. “That’s like I said, throughout the whole season, throughout the whole summer I feel like the offensive line has been doing a good job. They had a great camp and it showed. They have a lot of push off the ball. Just ready to go out and compete for the next one.”
Williams and the rest of team will face off against the No. 2 Clemson Tigers on Saturday at Kyle Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.