Despite not taking defensive reps in practice for Florida State football in a few weeks, Amaree Williams didn’t hesitate to ask Tony White to put him in for a drive in the No. 10 Seminoles’ 77-3 win over East Texas A&M.
Coming off the field after an extra point, Williams made his case and White left it in head coach Mike Norvell’s hands.
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As the defense took the field, Norvell asked White and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton to use the two-way player.
“We just kick a PAT field goal, and Amaree comes off the field and he’s running at me, and he stops. I’m like, ‘Hey, great job O[ffense]’ and he’s like, ‘Coach, can I go on defense?” White said. “I said if the head man lets you go on defense, okay, no problem.
“I didn’t think he ws going to go over there and tell him, he goes over there, disappears on me, we are about to go on defense, whatever. And then coach Norvell clicks over and he’s like, “Hey, can you guys use Amaree?”
Williams got a sack, to pair with his 35-yard touchdown he scored in the third quarter, to cap off a productive performance at tight end and defensive end. It’s something that Williams had done during fall practice, but doing it in a game showcased his development on both sides of the ball.
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In his second season, Williams is making good on his commitment to playing both sides of the football for the Seminoles.
A top-100 recruit, Williams reclassified and joined FSU a year early, posting 71 yards and two touchdowns on two catches as a 17-year-old freshman playing tight end.
He exclusively played offense as a freshman before taking defensive reps in the Seminoles’ spring camp and throughout the offseason. With an injury to Randy Pittman Jr., Williams is now being utilized more offensively in the tight end room.
“He’s really doing a fantastic job with the short time he’s been with us,” Gus Malzahn said. “Obviously, he played tight end last year, but you saw what he can do with the sack too. There is not a whole lot of guys in college football like him.”
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White credited Williams’s preparation on both sides of the ball and Norvell’s plan for the sophomore to make the sack and touchdown possible on Saturday.
“He is playing his butt off, he’s going out there and he’s having fun, you can see the life in him, and then he gets the sack and he’s all elated. That’s what Florida State is about, that’s what this team is about. It all starts with that master plan, and coach Norvell having that plan ahead of time,” White said.
“We were talking about Amaree all offseason… in spring ball, he was working on defense, the whole time almost. To go over on offense and do what he did, but have a foundation on defense, that was coach Norvell back in the spring, having that plan.”
FSU football 2025 schedule
Games with an asterisk are ACC games.
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September 6: vs. East Texas A&M, noon (shop tickets) (ACCNetwork)
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September 26: at Virginia*, 7 p.m. (Friday, ESPN)
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October 18: at Stanford*, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
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November 21: at NC State*, 8 p.m. (Friday)
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football’s Amaree Williams records TD, sack in East Texas A&M win
