Allen Park — Jameson Williams did some unbelievable things in his lone season at Alabama, racking up 1,572 receiving yards, ranking among the top 10 in yards per reception and scoring 17 touchdowns, including a pair of long kickoff returns.
Despite all those highlight-reel plays he made for the Tide, the Alabama crowd never chanted his name. But in his debut for the Detroit Lions last Sunday, regardless of the fact he played only a handful of snaps and didn’t record a single catch, the fans at Ford Field let the world know they’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first-round receiver with elite speed, shouting in unison, “We want Jamo! We want Jamo!”
That warm reception wasn’t lost on Williams, who hasn’t stopped smiling since finally being cleared to return to action after tearing his ACL last January.
“That s____ was crazy,” Williams said.
Physically, Williams is feeling great. He admits he spent his first few practices over-analyzing every movement, expecting something to give with his surgically repaired knee. But after a few days, he was able to get past that mental hurdle. And even though Sunday’s game was less about utilizing his playmaking potential and more about getting him comfortable with game day and substitution procedure, just being out on the field for an NFL game meant the world to Williams.
“It was my first time getting out there, and it was emotional,” he said. “I would say it was emotional to me, but I’m ready to go forward now.”
What forward looks like, only Detroit’s coaching staff knows. The loose plan is to keep expanding the workload, little by little, through the final five weeks of the season. The 21-year-old Williams actually sounds like a vet when asked how much more he’s ready to do, favoring the discretion of the team’s decision-makers over his own, selfish desires.
“As badly as I wanted to do more, it wasn’t about that. It was about what they said, getting my feet under me and making sure everything was good,” Williams said. “…”That’s up to the coaches on (giving me more playing time), but I’ll be ready for that for sure.”
Watching most of the season from the sidelines, Williams has enjoyed seeing the explosive potential of Detroit’s offense, which put up 40 points on Sunday without him recording a reception.
“Being able to watch that, it’s just great knowing that my talent is going to be added to that soon,” he said.
As for his goals in the final five games, there’s only one focus — making sure there are more than five.
“I just want to win and make the playoffs, for sure,” Williams said. “We’ve got a chance, so I want to do that, for sure.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers