By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Salisbury right guard Malik Williams is a pleasant, hard-working fellow who carries powerful shoulders, an aptitude for tough work in the trenches and a 3.7 GPA.

Williams also owns a sense of humor.

“My favorite subject always was science,” the junior explained. “But then I took chemistry. Now I’d have to say my favorite subject is history.”

The baffling study of atoms and molecules has had that effect on a lot of high school and college students over the years, but Williams has done plenty of positive things for Salisbury’s 0-line chemistry.

The Hornets lost Bo Brincefield for an extended period due to an injury and a medical condition that was discovered after the injury. So Williams, who came out of nowhere in June, has been a critical addition to the o-line room.

“We had to do some shuffling when we lost Bo,” Salisbury offensive line coach Garrison Jones said. “Josh Burns is our best known lineman, all-conference and all-county last season, but we had to move him to the right tackle position where Bo would have been. Our center (Hunter Franklin) is undersized, but he’s feisty. Tonydale Pagan is a fixture at left tackle. Isaiah Blackwell has come back from an injury to play very well at left guard. Fortunately, Malik came in and solidified right guard.”

Williams looks like a lineman is supposed to look. When he was recruiting the hallways, head coach Clayton Trivett had asked Williams to consider playing more than once. Williams finally made the decision to come out for football back in the summer.

“My friends got me out on the field more than anything,” Williams said. “I’ve got a lot of friends on the team, but especially Tonydale Pagan. I’d say he’s my best friend.”

Trivett believed Williams could help, could add some needed depth, but Williams quickly proved he could be more than that. He showed he could handle a starting job in the preseason.

“For a first-year guy, he’s pretty special,” Trivett said. “He’s very smart, so he started picking things up quickly. He asks great questions. His technique is surprisingly good for someone without a lot of experience, and he keeps getting better every week. We couldn’t ask for much more than what he’s given us.”

Offensive lineman don’t generally have stats, but they are graded. Williams said his highest football grades of the season came after coaches evaluated film of the Hornet’s 73-7 destruction of East Davidson at last Friday’s homecoming. Those grades had him beaming.

“I’ve really enjoyed competing,” Williams said. “I like the contact. I like the coaching staff. I like being part of team. And football definitely has gotten me in shape.”

Like most guards, Williams loves to attack and block in the run game. That’s more fun for a lineman than trying to hold his ground in pass protection.

While his most dominant performances have come during the last two weeks against overwhelmed  opponents, Williams’ favorite game was against Person.

After Salisbury lost to Walkertown (Walkertown is  6-1) in Week 2, a lot of people expected the Hornets to struggle against a talented Person team that was undefeated when it took on Salisbury in Week 4. But Salisbury rolled 38-7. In some ways, that was the best win the Hornets own. Person is 5-2 now.

“Person was a statement game for me and for the team,” Williams said.

The Hornets still have huge CCC games left with Lexington (Friday) and North Rowan (to close the regular season). But they like where they are. They are 7-1 overall, 11th in the 2A West RPI rankings and still in the running for another conference championship. They have exceeded all expectations after graduating a tidal wave of talent and losing star running back Jamal Rule to transfer.

“I’ve been really proud of our whole offensive line,” Jones said. “We don’t have that superstar back like Rule or JyMikaah Wells now, but we’re still getting good rushing yards. That shows that our linemen are doing their jobs.”