Seth Williams elevates his play, earns national attention

Seth Williams elevates his play, earns national attentionSeth Williams elevates his play, earns national attention
Shanna Lockwood/AU Athletics

AUBURN, Ala. – If the college football world didn't know who Seth Williams was before Saturday, they know now. 

The Auburn wide receiver put on a show in the 2020 season opener with six catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He made tough catches. He picked up yards after the catch. But it was the two touchdowns, in particular, that got national attention. 

The first touchdown came midway through the third quarter. It was third-and-goal from the 11-yard line. The Tigers were clinging to a 15-13 lead. Bo Nix took a couple steps to his right and threw a rope off his backfoot that sailed over two defenders. It would have sailed high for most wide receivers, too, but not Williams. He climbed the ladder and made the grab in the back of the end zone. 

"That was really something to watch from the sideline," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "It was about the only place the ball can be, and (Williams) elevated."

Malzahn wasn't the only one impressed. Former Auburn wide receiver Darius Slayton, now in his second year with the New York Giants, saw the catch while watching on TV and proceeded to tweet, "Seth the best 50/50 ball WR in CFB if you wanna argue i got time." 


Little did Slayton know then that Williams' best catch was yet to come. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Auburn faced another third-and-goal, this time from the 4-yard line. Nix took the snap, set his feet and threw a fade to Williams in the corner of the end zone. Williams went up over the top of the defensive back, snagged the ball and held it up with one hand as he was getting pushed out of bounds. 

"Seth does that all the time," Nix said. "You just throw it up and let him go get it."

Shortly after the touchdown, ESPN's Sportscenter account tweeted out, "Seth Williams absolutely Moss'd him," making reference to Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss and how he used to go up and make catches over defenders. 
 


The two catches, both worthy of making Sportscenter's Top 10, were nothing new for Auburn fans. They've seen Williams make plays time and time again since he first arrived on campus. 

There was the game-winning touchdown catch against Texas A&M his freshman year where he went up and got it in the back of the end zone. There was the game-winner in last year's opener where he ripped the ball away from the defender at the goal line and scored to put Auburn ahead of Oregon in the closing seconds. Now you can add these two catches to a highlight reel that seems to grow with every game. 

"When the ball goes up, you've got to have that feeling that you're going to come down with it," Williams said. "You've got to know it's your ball when it's in the air. I've always had that feeling. Once I started playing receiver and catching balls, my coaches instilled in me that once the ball goes up, it's your ball. Don't let anybody take it from you. It's your ball."

It's been that way since Williams was a freshman. His 26 catches, 534 receiving yards and five touchdowns all rank top five all-time among Auburn freshman receivers. He only got better as a sophomore last year as he more than doubled his catch total (59) and led the Tigers with 830 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. 

This year, though, the expectations were even higher. Between a new, more pass-friendly offense under Chad Morris and a growing relationship between Williams and Nix, the sky was the limit. 

Through one game, Williams has exceeded those expectations. 

"Seth is a really good receiver, and he's taken the next step in becoming a great receiver," Nix said. "This offseason, we just practiced and practiced. We got a bunch of connections, a bunch of throws and catches together, and obviously that came in clutch today. But Seth is always a guy that you know he'll go up and make the catch for you, he'll make plays for  you. He's an explosive guy. He can go up and get it. Today we just put him in positions to do that, and he went up and got the ball and made two great catches."

"It felt good to be back out there again," Williams said. "Just going through COVID, not knowing if you're going to play. Nothing is guaranteed during this time, so it felt great to be back out there."