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Mike Williams finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year.
USC ALL-AMERICAN RECEIVER MIKE WILLIAMS APPEARED EXCLUSIVELY ON THE PETROS PAPADAKIS SHOW ON KMPC-1540 THE TICKET TODAY TO CLEAR UP HIS FOOTBALL PLAYING PLANS FOR 2004. HERE ARE THE BEST EXCERPTS:
MIKE WILLIAMS ON REGAINING HIS NCAA ELIGIBILITY...
"ALL THE PAPERWORK WAS FAXED TO ME, SIGNED AND SENT BACK TO THE UNIVERSITY. I HAVE NO SPORTS AGENT NOW OFFICIALLY, SO THE PROFESSIONALISM ON THAT PART IS OVER. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS, WE HAVE A REPORT DRAFTED AND IT IS GOING TO BE SENT OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS… BY NO MEANS IS THIS A SLAM DUNK AS FAR AS BEING REINSTATED BY THE NCAA."
MIKE WILLIAMS ON NOT PLAYING IN THE NFL IN 2004...
"THIS IS DISAPPOINTING. IT'S A RAW DEAL. NO SECRET IT'S A RAW DEAL. EVERYBODY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE IS SAYING MAURICE CLARETT WHATEVER, WHATEVER, BUT MIKE WILLIAMS GOT SCREWED OVER. THAT IS JUST THE FACTS. IF I COULD DO IT AGAIN I'D PROBABLY STILL TAKE IT. IT DIDNT WORK OUT ON A TECHNICALITY. IT WASN'T A BAD DECISION; IT WASN'T A BAD BUSINESS MOVE OR A BAD CAREER MOVE. ....IF THAT DOESN'T WORK OUT THEN WE REALLY HAVE SOME LEVERAGE TO DO SOME THINGS IN THE FUTURE."
MIKE WILLIAMS ON DEALING WITH THE PROCESS OF BEING REINSTATED BY THE NCAA...
"THIS IS WAY OVER MY HEAD, THIS IS WAY OVER MY FORMER AGENT'S HEAD, WAY OVER MY PARENTS HEAD, PETE CARROLL DOESN'T EVEN HANDLE THIS, AND THIS IS WAY OVER HIS HEAD. THIS IS STRICTLY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NCAA AND USC. WE JUST KEEP GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS."
MIKE WILLIAMS ON HOW HIS APPROACH TO GAIN NCAA REINSTATEMENT...
"WE PRETTY MUCH HAVE TO SUBMIT OUR CASE AND SEE WHAT THE NCAA WANT US TO DO. I'M NOT JUST WALKING INTO THE DOOR SCOTT-FREE AND START- PLAYING FOOTBALL. THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME CONDITIONS THAT I HAVE TO MEET IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE. THE ACADEMICS SEEMS TO BE THE MOST GLARING. BUT I SIGNED A WAIVER, WHICH ANYONE CAN SIGN IN A SIMILAR POSITION. IT'S "PROGRESS TOWARD A DEGREE" WAIVER, WHICH MEANS IF YOU TAKE A SEMESTER OFF FOR WHATEVER REASON YOU CAN PICK UP AT THE SEMESTER BEFORE. SINCE I WAS IN GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING, CONTRARY TO BELIEF, THAT'S ONE THING WE’RE GOING AFTER AND IT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD."
MIKE WILLIAMS ON APPROACH TO RETURNING TO USC...
"THAT WOULD BE A BAD THING, WHEN I GEARED MYSELF TOWARDS TO GO INTO THE NFL, WITH THE MINDSET THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO. NOW I GEARED MYSELF TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL I PUT MY MIND THERE. THERE'S NOT A FOOTBALL PLAYER ON ANY LEVEL HUNGRIER THEN I AM TO PLAY BALL, INCLUDING (MAURICE)CLARETT OR ANYBODY ELSE, I'M GOING WITH THIS FULL FORCE."
Source: KMPC 1540 “The Ticket”
KMPC is part of Sporting News Radio the nation’s largest and most-listened-to 24-hour sports radio network broadcasting live over 430 affiliated stations. The Sporting News also operates Boston’s WWZN 1510 "The Zone," New Sporting News Radio is streamed live through SportingNews.com, Radio@AOL and Radio@Netscape.