Derrick Williams has now watched and waited on the sidelines, inhaling the unfamiliar scent of inactivity.

He did little watching or waiting in his first weeks as an offensive speedster at Penn State, jumping right into the fray as a starting receiver and kick returner.

And then the true freshman's season came crashing down on the Michigan Stadium grass, his white uniform blending into the white sideline upon which he was writhing in pain.

This was one of the only occasions when the Big Ten's premier freshman simply blended in.

Williams, Penn State's leading receiver and kick returner at the time, suffered a broken left arm on a fourth-quarter kick return in a 27-25 loss at Michigan on Oct. 15, ending the phenom's season after just seven games.

"It was very depressing," Williams said yesterday. "I've never been hurt before that, it's just something to get used to."

Something else to get used to was that there was much to be learned from the sidelines -- a viewpoint from which the star receiver was previously unfamiliar. Along with his spot on the field, Williams lost strength in his arm following the surgery, which also brought with it a month of swelling. He was able to resume practicing before the FedEx Orange Bowl, but was still held out of the game.

"It's probably the toughest thing to miss something you love so much," Williams said. "But I've learned more by being hurt: I can read coverages better, I can see things before they happen. That's just from sitting there and watching the game develop."

Reading coverages and recognizing plays before they occur will be of added importance this year, as players have said that the offense will look to pass more often than in 2005.

Williams is not concerned with the amount of passing plays so much as he is just getting back onto the playing field.

"It's a joy just to be out there with my teammates," Williams said of being back on the field for spring practices.

The arm has not given him problems, and fellow receiver Deon Butler affirms that Williams has not lost a step from his pre-injury days, adding that people will not be able to tell that Williams ever suffered the ailment.

"He's the same Derrick from before this arm injury -- he's flat-out 100 percent," Butler said. "He's lowering his right arm trying to run people over with it. It's hard to find guys that play like that every down and still have energy throughout the whole game."

It might be even more difficult to find athletes with that amount of energy even after playing so many roles.

The rising sophomore has gained a few pounds from his playing weight last season, currently weighing in at 198 pounds. He does not wish to be much heavier -- the load he will carry for the 2006 Nittany Lions might be heavy enough.

Williams scored three rushing touchdowns last year, and, though he is practicing exclusively at receiver this spring, believes there may be more carries in his future.

"[The coaches] are not worried about me running the ball that much because they know I can do that, running comes easy to me," Williams explained.

Last season Williams proved that a great many things on the field come easy to him. The difficulty comes when he is forced to stay off the pitch, separated from the game.

"Every night I just pray that I can get through the season healthy," Williams admitted.

He and his teammates always tell each other that they do not want to be a "one-hit wonder," that they don't want to have one good year and then "come back and stink."

Williams will do all that he can to ensure that the Lions will not, indeed, stink. After all, he's watched and waited and taken in the scent of the sideline for too long, and now it's time to come back.