ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Mick Williams isn't shy about his thoughts on the Pittsburgh defensive line this year.

"I think we can be great," he said. "I think we can be one of the best defensive lines in the country."

	Randy Litzinger/Icon SMI
	Mick Williams collected 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season.

There's little doubt that the Panthers have that potential with all the talent available up front. Defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus get most of the headlines, but position coach Greg Gattuso describes Williams as the heart of the defensive line.

The fifth-year senior happily takes on the dirty work in the trenches, and his role is key to a defensive scheme that likes to apply pressure with its front four.

"Jabaal and Greg are the scorers, like a running back," Williams said. "They get the sacks. But they need us (the interior linemen) to get them there."

Williams gets his own share of the fun. Last season, he had 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Sticking with Pitt's philosophy of speed and quickness over size, Williams stands a hair over 6-foot and weighs around 280 pounds.

But he has tremendous and surprising athleticism within that frame. While playing basketball as a 260-pound high school senior, he dunked a basketball and shattered the backboard.

"There was so much glass on me when I went to the hospital that they thought I had been in a bar fight," he said.

His agility comes in handy while going up against some of the bigger offensive linemen in the Big East, who sometimes are 30 or 40 pounds heavier.

"I definitely feel we're a whole lot quicker than most of the teams we play," he said. "The thing is, when they get their hands on you, sometimes it's a rough ride. We watch a lot of film of the (Indianapolis) Colts to see how they do things. They have undersized defensive linemen, but they're quick like us."

In case you couldn't tell by now, Williams also has a gift for gab. He's one of the more talkative players on the defense and says he tries to raise his teammates' energy levels. And he says he likes to talk some trash to opposing offensive linemen to get them mad and keep himself motivated.

He's also not afraid to voice his opinion on the potential of this year's line.

"Pressure is good, and it leads to interceptions," he said. "But at the end of the day, we want sacks. We're trying to lead the country in sacks."