TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - When coaches, teammates and friends talk about how far Jesse Williams has come, they gush. Some refer to distance, others to discipline.
Literally, he has come 9,230 miles to Alabama. It's 7,450 miles from the picturesque beaches of Brisbane on Australia's east coast to the barren desert outside Yuma, Ariz., where he played football for two years at Arizona Western Community College.
And it's 1,780 more miles from Yuma to Tuscaloosa, where he is a starting defensive end this season for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Figuratively, Williams has come farther. Miles don't measure the distance he has come from a raw talent to a polished player.
Though still a work in progress, Williams is only a few months removed from playing "bulla-bulla ball." That's the term Alabama coach Nick Saban coined in April to describe Williams' lack of technique and training.
Five months later, look where the 6-foot-4, 319-pound Williams is now.
"Jesse's probably made the most significant improvement from spring practice until now as probably just about any player on our team," Saban said last week. "He has ability, he has great size, he has good initial quickness, he can run.
Click here for linkGotta love this guy.
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