Williams, listed at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, looks bigger. And over the last month, he has played bigger. His coaches have even started using the “D” word — dominating.

In the Wonders’ defensive struggle against East Rowan two weeks back it was Williams whom Kannapolis head coach Bruce Hardin credited with controlling the game.

But if you had talked to Wonder coaches a year ago about Williams controlling or dominating anything other than the remote and the best seat in front of the TV, they would have recommended a good psychiatrist.

Last season didn’t go Williams’ way. Not for one second.

He dislocated his shoulder on opening night at Statesville, and the way Hardin tells the story, the kid’s shoulder was so darn big and surrounded by so much muscle, the doctors couldn’t figure out how to get it back in place. Williams spent hours in pain that night, and the injury still affected him mentally and physically when he returned to the defense at mid-season.

He played — the Wonder coaches were so strapped for big bodies that they had to play him — but he wasn’t great in ‘98. Certainly, if Williams made his coaches use a “d” word to describe his play, dominating wouldn’t have been their first choice.

Williams wasn’t a bad kid, but in a town where everyone is expected to hunger for football, he had little appetite. His personality was as laid-back as an old hound dog’s, leaving his tougher teammates wondering if “Big Des” would get in a hurry even if they set his floppy green shoestrings on fire. He drove his teammates crazy. They wanted production, not potential, from the mighty man-child. They knew he was capable of so much more than he was giving.

Williams has immense talent. He’s a college prospect. A Charles Barkley with lots of hair. A kid who can move an awfully large mass in an awfully big hurry.

At least when he wants to.

Last year, though, Williams just didn’t want to very often.

n

When the Wonder coaches got together after last season, Hardin told them the linemen would not go both ways in ‘99. Then the coaches decided the program’s only two huge, athletic guys — Williams and 275-pound Kurjuan Kirkpatrick — would be split between the offensive and defensive units.

The offense got Kirkpatrick (a hard-working coach’s dream), while the defense wound up with Williams as a consolation prize.

Defensive coordinator Bill Wightman and defensive line coach Bob Jacobs felt like crying. Now, however, those tears of disappointment have turned to tears of joy.

The turnaround for Williams began last winter when he started making surprise appearances in the Wonder weight room.

At first, his coaches and teammates rubbed their eyes in disbelief — they weren’t used to seeing Des until the first day of official football practice. But when he kept showing up day after day, week after week, they knew that a drastic change was taking place in the heart and mind and soul of Desmond Williams.

There were as many theories on Williams’ new mindset as there are Wonder coaches.

“He’d gotten by for a long time just on his size,” said Wightman. “But when he got hurt it opened his eyes some.”

“Maybe it was because he knew we had to have him this year,” offered Jacobs.

“He’d never seen himself as someone special,” said Hardin. “But the light went on, he realized how good he could be and he improved his work ethic.”

“Maybe Des just decided he wanted it,” said assistant Jeremy Ryan.

Then Jacobs added the last and definitive word.

“Des,” he said, “decided to grow up.”

n

A slimmed-down Williams started this season playing inside. His role was to take on double teams, allowing linebackers to make tackles. He played well, but the defense as a unit struggled.

But when the coaches flip-flopped Williams and Lee Basinger several weeks ago, the whole defense came together like hand in glove. It’s surrendered 14 grudging points over the past five games.

“I’m better suited inside. Des is better outside,” said Basinger. “It’s working.”

Stationed at the Wonders’ quick end and with only one man trying to block him, Williams has suddenly erupted as a force of nature so intense that area quarterbacks have begun to purchase additional insurance.

“Des is very aggressive, very consistent,” said Wightman. “He’s had some games that were better than others, but he hasn’t had a bad one.”

And where Williams’ teammates used to wonder if he’d be on time for practice, now they look at him as their ringleader.

“He’s motivating, pushing, making demands of his teammates,” marveled Hardin. “He’s taken on leadership qualities. He’s taken ownership in this team. He’s taking responsibility.”

“To me, he’s just a neat guy, the one that keeps us all pumped up,” said Basinger.

“Des is faster and quicker than I’ve ever seen him,” said linemate Mike Davis. “ If I voted, Des is all-conference. On practice and on Friday nights, he’s letting it all show up for the Wonders.”

n

Outwardly, Williams doesn’t look all that different from last year aside from a little more muscle in the place of baby fat.

But closer inspection reveals a dozen subtle changes. A firmer handshake, a straighter posture, a steadier voice and eyes that look right at you instead of down at the turf. This is a young man whose confidence has increased tenfold. Football has made a difference in how he’ll spend his life — not just on how he spends these last precious high school Friday nights.

“I’ve learned that you’ve gotta hit the weights, gotta work hard all the time in everything” said Williams. “You’ve gotta be responsible.”

But when he was asked about that leadership thing, Williams shook his head.

“I don’t feel like I’m doing any more than the next man,” he said. “I’m doing more than last year but the way I see it, the whole defense is one.”

But how about that game against East?

“The coaches say that was my best,” said Williams, lighting up. “But I’m not satisfied. I know my best is yet to happen.”

The Wonders would like to see his best happen Friday at Concord. They would love to see “Mr. Williams” earn the respect of the Spiders as he has earned the respect of his coaches and teammates.

But no matter how the Wonders fare, the “Desmond Williams Story” has been written. And it’s a story of success.