Michael Ventre

Mike Williams could be the next Randy Moss. That means he might become one of the NFL’s most productive and game-breaking receivers. It also means he could become a real pain in the behind.

Scouts are extremely high on Williams, as they should be. Before he formed a misguided alliance with Maurice Clarett in a foolhardy attempt to jump to the pros early, Williams had been a dominant wideout. He was big, strong, tough, physical, fast and reliable. After suffering a case of the dropsies early in his freshman year, he went on to post two spectacular seasons with the Trojans.

Williams went 10th to the Detroit Lions in the NFL draft Saturday, which means he could combine with Roy Williams and Charlie Rogers to form one of the most dangerous receiving trios in recent memory.

Williams is one of those rare receivers who needs a quarterback only to toss a pigskin in his general area, and he’ll use his athletic ability to gobble it in, usually with a couple of defenders draped over him. He can often make the difference between a successful drive and a stalled one because of his tenacity and confidence.

That’s the good news.

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The bad? The young man has a touch of attitude. As we have seen before, when large sums of money and the spotlight of intense fame hit a kid like that, he can turn from incredible to insufferable — sometimes during the same game.

As a Trojan under coach Pete Carroll, Williams was often the truant who was a regular in detention. More than once he did punishment drills for being late to practice. He had a blowup on the sideline during a game after he criticized the team’s kicker for having a bad day.

After his sophomore season, he gave an interview to the Daily Trojan that ripped some teammates for not being winners. Needless to say, it didn’t sit well with fans and alumni, not to mention coaches and players. Offensive coordinator Norm Chow alluded to Williams’ work habits, which he suggested needed work.

Then there was the ill-fated attempt to jump to the NFL. Carroll and others strongly advised him not to sign with an agent and to keep attending classes in order to preserve his eligibility in case the courts eventually ruled against him and Clarett. Williams stubbornly ignored that advice, and his eventual request for reinstatement was denied.

After that episode, he groused publicly about the USC coaches, saying that they were only too eager to keep in touch with him while he still had a chance to play for the Trojans, but they stopped calling as soon as it was clear he wouldn’t. Whether that is true, it begs the question: Why would they keep calling if Williams continually dismissed their advice?

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This is not to suggest that Williams is a bad guy. He could have just been an immature guy, someone who became intoxicated by his collegiate success and began to think he was above the team. He had a lot of positives as well, not the least of which was a habit of praising quarterback Matt Leinart for doing an exceptional job of getting him the football.

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