Chase Williams Knows How to Make Big Plays

Sep 20, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Justin Thomas (5) rushes the ball against Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Chase Williams (36) during the fourth quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Williams had been stuck behind plenty of other linebackers on the depth chart in his first three seasons and injuries prevented him from getting a starting opportunity. However, Williams knew that he could finally get that chance to start in 2014 with the departures of Jack Tyler and Tariq Edwards.

Williams took advantage of that opportunity and made sure that he was unquestionably going to be a starter this fall by the end of Spring Practice. So far, Williams has proven on the field that he absolutely deserves to be starting for Bud Foster and the Virginia Tech defense.

Williams started out his season with only a few tackles against William & Mary but they were meaningful ones with the senior linebacker having 2 sacks and a forced fumble that was nearly returned for a touchdown by Derek Di Nardo. Williams made a big impact on this game despite not making tackles overall.

Williams went to Ohio State and produced a solid game with 7 tackles and 5 QB hurries. Of course, his fellow starting linebacker Deon Clarke had a huge game but Williams was also solid. Williams’s strong season continued with 6 tackles against East Carolina in what was another solid game from the senior from Leesburg, Virginia.

This past week, Chase Williams had the best game of his career.

Williams had the best game of any Hokie on defense with 17 tackles and 1 fumble recovery in the loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Williams was all over the field making plays to shut down Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack. Overall, the Hokies might not have had total success on defense against the Yellow Jackets but Williams definitely played well.

His fumble recovery was his biggest play but that was just symbolic of how he constantly seemed to be in the backfield ready to make a play. Williams showed his high football IQ and great instincts in this game that have been prasied many times by the Virginia Tech coaches.

The Hokies had some issues with players failing to keep their assignment against Georgia Tech’s triple option but Williams did not have any issues with that in this game due to his great discipline. Williams was a playmaker in this game and was a big reason why the Hokies outplayed Georgia Tech and should have gotten the victory.

Chase Williams probably won’t top that performance but expect the senior to continue to be very productive along with making some big plays.