It's not easy growing up, not easy being green and not easy stepping up to the offensive line as a 6-foot (in cleats?), 237-pounder for a Division I-A football team.
It's a role, however, that Casey Williams has pulled off mostly without a hitch in his four years as a tight end for the Penn State football team.
In the Nittany Lions' 23-10 season-opening win over Temple last Saturday, it was Williams' teeth-rattling pancake block on an Owls defender that opened a hole for fullback Sean McHugh to bust through on a four-yard touchdown run.
Yet when Williams got the chance to gloat about the shot, his response was about as overwhelming as his size.
"The guy I was supposed to be blocking, I guess there was another guy that got his attention and he wasn't ready for me when I came up through," Williams said. "I didn't know it was that big of a hit until everybody was saying afterward."
That is typical of the nature of Williams' impact. Many people tend not to notice as he goes about doing big things in a ho-hum manner.
As a junior last season, Williams caught a pass in 10 of the 11 games in which he played, quietly grabbing 24 receptions for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
But the senior who routinely gives up at least 50 pounds to opposing defensive linemen may have his biggest impact on this year's team as a blocker rather than as a receiver.
It has long been said that Penn State football coach Joe Paterno -- whose squad entered this season with no projected starters on the offensive line who had started a game for the Lions --requires all his tight ends to be good linemen first, good linemen second and good receivers third. Williams didn't hesitate to answer that the coaching staff still places that emphasis on the position.
"They put a lot of pressure on us for blocking and expect us to be just like a guard, center or tackle," Williams said. "We have responsibilities just like they do in the running game. It's just the way, the offense we have. If you can't block you can't play. You may be able to play receiver, but not tight end."
While Williams had few opportunities to catch the ball last Saturday, it doesn't mean he wasn't open. On Penn State quarterback Zack Mills' third-quarter interception, the safety valve was open underneath.
Whether or not, on third-and-10, it would have been smart to throw a five-yard pass to Williams and hope he could gain the other five on the ground isn't certain.
What is fairly possible is that Williams will see an expanded role in the passing game tomorrow against Boston College. After the receiving corps struggled in year's first game, dropping at least three passes, Mills will need a more consistent option on the field to charge the aerial attack.
If Williams can be that option, he says he'll be happy. If Williams isn't, he says he'll be all right with that, too.
"It's nice, personally to get some passes, but I don't complain," Williams said. "If I don't, you just got to wait. Sometimes you're just not going to get the ball as much."
After a Paterno press conference Tuesday in which the coach said the playbook wouldn't change much from the one the Lions used against the Owls, it looks like Williams will have his work cut out for him again on the ground.
The Eagles send out a tandem of tackles, both of which weigh in over 280 pounds, and defensive ends that are 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-6, respectively.
The size, however, doesn't mean the front four is invincible. In its first game of the season, a 32-28 loss to Wake Forest, Boston College surrendered 160 yards rushing on 40 attempts and allowed two touchdown runs of more than 25 yards.
That means it could be a big day for the Penn State ground game and Williams. It most likely won't be easy, but, for Williams, little on the field ever is.
