Michigan State Football: Raequan Williams on cusp of career year

Raequan Williams has had a solid past two seasons with Michigan State football, but he hasn’t reached his full potential yet, and that could soon change.

In celebration of the 99, now 98, days until the start of Michigan State football, we’re going to preview the Spartans’ No. 99, Raequan Williams.

The senior defensive tackle is coming off his best year yet, posting 50 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks and he’s even earning high praise from NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, who has already rated him the fourth-best senior at the position in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

After the junior season he had, it’s not crazy to think that Williams will be one of the top defensive tackles chosen in the 2020 draft. He just put up big numbers and even put up with double-teams for a good chunk of the season only to lead one of the best defensive lines in college football which was No. 1 against the run.

Williams is building one heck of a career in East Lansing.

In three years at Michigan State, he has recorded 109 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He still hasn’t even reached his full potential yet, which we will see in 2019.

The senior tackle is on the cusp of his best season yet and it’s because the rest of his defensive line has earned the respect of opponents thanks to the 2018 season. He’ll no longer be double-teamed on a regular basis because Mike Panasiuk, Naquan Jones, Kenny Willekes and Jacub Panasiuk are all dangerous in the trenches, too.

If you thought his 50-tackle season was impressive, wait until you see what he does in 2019 with more focus on pass-rushing. He’ll be able to penetrate easier and get to the quarterback more often. I’m thinking something like 5-6 sacks and 13-15 tackles for loss to go along with 60-plus tackles.

Williams’ stock is only going to improve this season and he could very well be the one to keep the Spartans’ NFL draft streak alive.