What many remember from Vince Williams’ Pittsburgh Steelers tenure is some big hits defensively, a sound linebacker against the run, and a hilarious presence on social media.
Often forgotten is the special teams presence he had early in his career, Williams quickly developing into an ace under special teams coordinator Danny Smith.
It wasn’t like that early though, as Williams — who started 11 games as a rookie in 2013 due to an injury to Larry Foote — had visions of being the next starting linebacker in the middle of the Steelers’ 3-4 defense. The selection of Ryan Shazier in the 2014 NFL Draft changed that, pushing Williams to a reserve role and a special teams presence.
For some players, that could have been demoralizing. But Williams, after a tough initial period wrapping his mind around it, eventually put himself in the right mindset and became a star on special teams under Smith.
Appearing on “The Christian Kuntz Podcast” that published Thursday, Williams recalled just how he embraced special teams and eventually became a key piece for the Steelers in that area of the game, and having a memorable performance in the 2016 Wild Card Round playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs and dangerous return man Tyreek Hill.
“What really helped me on special teams was understanding that this is how I gotta feed my family,” Williams said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “That’s what made me tell old Danny to kick the ball to Tyreek Hill. I gotta contribute, I gotta justify my worth to the organization.
“And my worth is based on how many times I tackled this dude inside the 20. That’s what’s important to me.”
Going from having visions of being the starting linebacker in 2014 after the experience he gained in that role as a rookie, to then trying to make the team and having a role on special teams could have been really challenging. Williams even admitted he went into Smith’s office and was a bit teary-eyed, questioning what he was going to do after the team drafted Shazier.
But a little pep talk from Smith and a relentless determination to make every tackle on special teams drove Williams to greatness in that phase of the game.
From 2014-16, Williams played 794 special teams snaps. He put it all together in that playoff win. According to Kuntz, Smith still plays the film of Williams making three straight tackles on Hill, showing his special teams units what type of effort and mentality is needed.
“They were kicking to Tyreek Hill. They weren’t kicking it out,” Kuntz said. “Danny will play that and he tells the story that Vince came back and they were like, ‘Yeah, we’re just gonna kick it out. We’re playing Tyreek Hill, we’re gonna kick the ball out.’ Smart, right? Logical, minimize the risk. Vince said, ‘We went right up to Danny Smith and said, kick it to this motherfucker.’ And he plays the film.”
That had to be an awesome moment when Williams said that to Smith. It had to ignite the whole special teams group. And Williams backed up the talk. Coming into that playoff matchup, Hill had two punt returns for a touchdown that season and one kickoff-return score. He averaged 15.2 yards per punt return and 27.4 yards per kickoff return.
Against the Steelers, Williams led the charge to negate him. Hill averaged just 18 yards on four kickoff returns in the playoff loss to the Steelers.
Check out the video that Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora did after that playoff game of Williams dominating on special teams.
Williams was driven to show the team his greatness on special teams, make his impact felt, and ultimately continue to have a key role in the NFL.
“Everybody on this team is gonna respect me for it because defenses understand the difference between starting on the 25 and starting on the 15,” Williams said of his special teams acumen. “Defense is understand that. They’re like, ‘Man, when Vince is out there, he is gonna tackle that dude on the 17.’ That’s a big difference than the 25, right? The whole game plan for an offensive playbook is different when you’re inside the 20 than when you on the 25. You’re uncomfortable.
“And I wanted the team to recognize my greatness, to kind of build my own lore and my sense of respect. Because I felt like I wanted to show everybody that special teams was important.”
Williams accomplished that in a big way. He made an immense impact on special teams, and then ultimately went on to have a huge impact on defense once he became a full-time starter in 2017, going on to start 69 games across eight seasons with the Steelers.
He was a dependable piece for the defense late in his career, but what still stands out to him today is the work he did on special teams. And his performance against the Chiefs and Hill in the 2016 playoff game continues to be held in high regard and shown as teach tape by Smith in special teams meetings.
Check out the full interview with Williams on The Christian Kuntz Podcast below.
