Sophomore wide receiver Ed Williams is quickly making a name for himself as one of ISU’s top receivers.

He grabbed eight receptions for 131 yards, both career highs, against Iowa on Saturday, including several third and long receptions to keep the Cyclones offense moving. His 5.3 receptions per game and 73.3 receiving yards per contest now rank him second and fourth in the Big Eight. Williams is the Daily’s Cyclone Profile player of the week.

“He’s a big play maker. He’s got potential, I think, to be an outstanding wide receiver in the Big Eight. With Eddie, it’s just a matter of getting more reps and more game time. I think he’ll be an outstanding player,” said ISU head football coach Dan McCarney.

“He has a lot more confidence about what we’re asking him to do in the offense now. Now it’s a matter of going out and doing it on game day.”

Williams, who hails from Opa-Locka, Florida, started at quarterback his senior season, hitting on 52 of 125 passes for 616 yards and seven touchdowns.

“It was my decision to play quarterback in high school. I always wanted to play receiver from the beginning, but we needed a quarterback, and I knew I could do it,” Williams said. “But like, if your a quarterback and something goes wrong, they look at you. I didn’t like that kind of responsibility so I just figured I would play receiver, period. I didn’t enjoy the quarterback spot.”

Williams was named to the honorable mention all-city and all-Dade County team his senior year of high school.

Williams, who did not start a game last year, performed well as a true freshman, collecting 13 receptions for 186 yards. In the last two games of this season Williams has gathered 16 receptions for 213 yards.

“I was surprised because last year I had a total of 13 [receptions] in eight games. I was really surprised, but they told me they were going to try to get me the ball,” Williams said. “I knew I was going to come in and play, but I was really expecting to start. I didn’t, but I played in eight games. I was surprised to play in eight games.”

But Williams’ contributions continue even when the ball isn’t in his hands. Williams had several key blocks that helped to open up the Cyclone offensive attack.

“I really like blocking. I can block, but I have to stay focused on what I have to do and stop panicking,” he said. “I can run patterns, and that’s no problem. But blocking is really the only improvement I have to make.”