8 ... 20 ... 12 ... 19 ... 10 ... 18. No, that is not the winning combination for tonight's Missouri State Lottery drawing but the number of tackles produced by senior defensive back Joe Williams in his six games this season. With the exception of the Marshall game, his dominant performance defensively has given the Indians a chance to stay competitive in every game this season although the offense has struggled at times. Combined with the fact that Southeast's other safety, Isaac Powell, is also a strong defensive players makes the Indians secondary very formidable.

Williams performance has made 2000 a break out season for him. Entering the 2000 season, Williams had produced solid numbers at Southeast but had not reached superstar status. In three prior seasons, Williams had accumulated 61 total tackles, 34 of those being solo. He mainly saw time as a backup or on special teams and found playing time whenever he could. However, with a solid work ethic and patience Williams finally got his opportunity to star this season.

In his first game at Marshall, Williams produced six tackles against the juggernaut Marshall Thundering Herd offense. It was against Southern Illinois the next week that he would begin to gain recognition. In the Indian's 34-33 comeback victory, Williams hounded the Saluki offensive backs all day and finished the game with a career-high 20 tackles.

Williams would go on to record 12 tackles against Illinois State and 19 in a loss to Western Kentucky. At that point in the season Williams was averaging 14.75 tackles per game and was ranked second nationally in all of Division I-AA football. That was an honor Williams was proud of. "It was a great honor to be ranked highly and gain nationally recognition. However, I am just happy to be contributing to the team and helping any way I can," Williams said.

After ranking nationally, Williams put together a 10 tackle effort against Eastern Kentucky and an 18 tackle performance against Tennessee Tech in Southeast's last game.

So far for the 2000 season, Williams has 87 total tackles (50 solo) and two tackles for a loss. That is already 26 more tackles than Williams had the three previous years combined. Williams credits hard work and the opportunity to play in his turnaround this season. "It seemed that in previous seasons there was always someone ahead of me or that I was always in the coach's doghouse. However in the off season I worked really hard and I am finally getting the chance to contribute to the team on the field," Williams added.

With such dominating statistics, Williams has noticed teams starting to run different schemes at him in an attempt to handle him. "I have noticed teams sending wide receivers to run cracks at me and at times trying to run away from me. But with Isaac on the other side, it really does not matter which side they run to. We'll stop them either way," Williams added.

Williams is a native of Baton Rouge, La and a 1996 graduate Tara High School. At Tara, Williams was named All-Metro and All-State and the defensive MVP of his team. Also recruited by McNeese State and Southern University, Williams chose Southeast because of its location and the fact that were they constantly pursued him. "I was having some difficulty with the ACT, but Southeast kept recruiting me when others were not," Williams said.

Williams, who is a Criminal Justice major, hopes to finish the season strong and continue to do what he does best, which is making tackles. There is still one thing he has not accomplished this season. "I want to make the big play. I've had some good games this season but there isn't that one big play that stands out. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that in the next five games," said Williams.

If Williams continues to play as he has to this point in the season, his effort should give Southeast a chance to win a majority of its remaining games.