Williams Will Not Be Back For Aztecs

As national letter-of-intent signing day arrives today and San Diego State prepares to welcome a new crop of football players, the Aztecs have lost nickel back Derrick Williams.

SDSU Coach Al Luginbill, citing philosophical differences, said this week that he told Williams not to return during individual meetings the coach had with each player during December.

“We were going one way as a team and Derrick was going the other way, and you can’t have that,” Luginbill said.

The decision marks the end of a rapid fall for Williams, a junior from Carlsbad, who earned SDSU’s starting nickel back slot for the season opener at Oregon last Sept. 8. Williams started the first four games before being relegated to second team Oct. 6 when SDSU was at Wyoming. Luginbill was frustrated with inconsistency and lack of production at the position and replaced Williams with junior Tracey Mao.