Penn State senior wide receiver and co-captain Derrick Williams never quite has lived up to his promise, but he insists it's finally going to happen this season.

"The real Derrick Williams will be there this year," he said.

Williams was considered the No. 1 high school recruit in the country four years ago coming out of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md. He chose Penn State at a time when the Nittany Lions were struggling and most blue-chip prospects were staying away from Happy Valley.

He exhibited his versatility the first month and a half of the 2005 season, rushing 22 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns while catching 22 passes for 289 yards and another score. But Williams broke his arm against Michigan in the seventh game that season and has never shown the same explosiveness.

"Some people say that I lost speed my sophomore year," Williams said. "But every year since I got here, I've gotten faster."

Williams had 1,121 all-purpose yards a year ago as a junior, the second-highest total on the team. He produced a team-leading 55 catches for 529 yards, but averaged just 9.6 yards per catch and three touchdowns.

"He turned it around some last year and he had a heck of a spring," coach Joe Paterno said. "He was trying too hard for a while, trying to make big plays all the time."

Williams, 6 feet and 194 pounds, has rather simple goals.

"I just want to work hard and do all I can do to help the team," he said.

Drawing the line

Penn State, which holds its media day today, has two polished starters at defensive end in Josh Gaines and Maurice Evans. Their experience will be needed on a defensive line that is young in experience, now that projected starting tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor have been booted off the team.

"When I talk, people listen," said Gaines, a senior co-captain entering his third season as a starter.

"It's a great weapon," he said. "So, I'm going to try to use this weapon to actually do good with it. People listen to what I have to say for some reason."

Baker, whose career was marred by off-the-field incidents, plans to play football this fall at Hampton University, a Division I-AA school.

Unbeaten teams to return

Three of Penn State's undefeated teams will be honored this season. Members of the 1968 and '69 squads, which posted back-to-back 11-0 records and a pair of Orange Bowl victories, will be honored during the home opener Aug. 30 against Coastal Carolina. The '73 team, which finished 12-0 and also won the Orange Bowl, will be feted during the Oregon State game Sept. 6. The 1968 and '69 teams finished second in the final Associated Press rankings, while the '73 team was fifth.

Bowl experience

Eight of the 12 teams on the Nittany Lions' schedule played in bowl games a year ago. They will face five of those opponents at home (Oregon State, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State) and Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State on the road.