Derrick Williams walked through the tunnel on his way back to the field at halftime Saturday night.
His jersey was pockmarked with small rips. His pants, once white, were a shade of grass green. His arms were smeared with blue and white endzone paint.
Williams was just getting started.
In the second half of Penn State's 38-24 win over Illinois, the senior captain added 130 more all-purpose yards to his first half total of 111.
Williams was the go-to guy all night for Penn State, despite the fact that receiver Jordan Norwood was out due to a hamstring injury. Williams was the first player under Joe Paterno to rush for a score, catch a touchdown pass and return a kickoff for a touchdown.
His touchdown grab came in the first quarter and he ran for the go-ahead points in the second.
Williams' most impressive play came to start the fourth quarter.
A wet football bounced to the five-yard line, and Williams picked it off the grass. Williams proved too slick for the Illinois kickoff coverage team and after a couple of cuts, was gone for a 94-yard touchdown. His scamper proved to be the spark the crowd needed, after a couple early Illinois touchdowns had silenced the nighttime crowd.
"Did you guys see how easy it was for me? The only thing I had to do was run," Williams said after the game. "I saw a highway with a big truck that could go through it. The guys up front did a great job, the only thing I had to do was run through it."
It wasn't easy for now-No. 6 Penn State all night.
For the first time this season, a team scored on the Nittany Lions in the first quarter. Illinois, led by junior quarterback Juice Williams, quieted the raucous 109,626 fans in attendance at Beaver Stadium with a six-play scoring drive for the game's opening points.
Penn State responded with a one-yard quarterback keeper by senior Daryll Clark, but Illinois came right back.
Senior cornerback Lydell Sargeant had Illini receiver Arrelius Benn covered as the wideout streaked into the endzone, but Juice Williams floated a pass out of Sargeant's reach. Benn sprawled in the endzone and hauled in the ball. After a review, it was determined Benn possessed the ball with his feet down. The score put Illinois up 14-7.
Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said the amount of crowd noise on Illinois' first two drives affected the Lions defense as well. Because the Illini were running the no-huddle offense, Penn State players had difficulty hearing the defensive play calls and getting lined up fast enough.
"They did it the whole game," Bradley said. "I guess that was their plan to do that the whole game. That helps when you have a couple weeks off to prepare. ... They have different tempos to their offense, different speeds. Tonight was all full-throttle speed."
Illinois's fast-paced offense looked slow later on compared to Williams.
Paterno said earlier this season he wouldn't know how good his team was until it faced some adversity. On Saturday, Paterno was pleased with how his squad responded. He also had words of praise for Williams -- Paterno's coveted recruit in 2005.
"Derrick has been in tough games and made big plays," Paterno said. "In fact, I told him the other day that it's about time that he break out and have a real big game. He had a big day. He is a heck of an athlete and he is a heck of a competitor."
When Paterno told him he needed to have a breakout game, the coach said Williams just smiled.
Williams came into the media room having not showered, he still wore his undershirt from the game. His arms were still a mess.
"He's a phenomenal player and today's game speaks for itself," fellow wideout Deon Butler said of Williams. "That's the kind of player he is, that he can have a breakout game at any time and if you don't pay attention to him, this is what's going to happen. Derrick was on fire today and could not be stopped."
