Derrick Williams finally found a way to break loose and put some pizzazz in Penn State's offense.

The junior receiver, regarded as the top high school recruit in the country in 2005, had a career game against Purdue last weekend.

Williams set career highs with 10 receptions, 151 total yards and two touchdowns. His 95 receiving yards equaled his career best, set against Minnesota last season.

"It was one of Derrick's best games I can remember," said senior receiver and tri-captain Terrell Golden. "Just getting the ball in space and making people miss. He did it all day -- running, catching, great blocks.

"He had a great game, and I'm sure he will build on it throughout the next few weeks and next year."

Williams caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Boilermakers. And his 12-yard scoring run on a reverse early in the fourth quarter gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good en route to a 26-19 win.

The 10 catches by Williams were the most by a Penn State receiver this season, bettering the mark of eight set by Jordan Norwood against Indiana.

"He had a phenomenal day," quarterback Anthony Morelli said. "The touchdown pass, the touchdown run. All the yards he had receiving, making people miss, running the ball."

Williams led the Nittany Lions in receiving for the first time this year and his two touchdowns doubled his season total to four heading into Saturday's non-conference game against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

"I've always been a player that just wants to win," Williams said yesterday. "If the stats come, they come."

Coach Joe Paterno would like to see more consistency from Williams, who made several dazzling plays as a freshman before suffering a season-ending broken left arm, and then struggled through a less-than-spectacular sophomore year.

Paterno believes Williams might have been pressing a bit too much before his breakout game five days ago.

"I think Derrick has to go out and play a good football game every week," Paterno said. "I think sometimes we haven't gotten the football to him, and I think he's been a little bit frustrated with that, and I think we've just got to play our game.

"Hopefully, Derrick will be an important part of whatever success -- if we have it -- in the next couple of games."

Williams' longest catch against Purdue was 21 yards. The rest were a bunch of short-range passes after which he capitalized on his speed and fancy footwork to get extra yards.

"We just took what the defense was giving us," receiver Deon Butler said. "They were giving us Derrick Williams all day. If you're not going to take Derrick away from us, we're going to keep feeding him the ball.

"The thing with this offense, each game it's going to be a different guy who stars. Derrick's had quiet games, but [Saturday] was his big breakout game."

Williams leads Penn State with 40 receptions and is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches with Golden and Norwood at three. Williams' 366 receiving yards rank third behind Butler's 463 and Norwood's 447, and his 9.1 average yards per catch is fourth among receivers, trailing Butler's 13.2, Norwood's 11.8 and Golden's 11.1.

Additionally, Williams is second in the Big Ten in punt returns with a 12.4-yard average. He also is averaging 18.4 yards on 10 kickoff returns.

Still, Williams hasn't been the impact player many figured he would be at Penn State after a decorated career at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md.

"I came here just trying to do the best that we can to help us have winning seasons," Williams said. "It was never about numbers or anything like that."

NOTE -- All-American linebacker Dan Connor has been named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented to the nation's top defensive player. He was one of three finalists for last year's award, which was won by teammate Paul Posluszny for the second consecutive year.