Every freshman has a “welcome to college” experience when he steps on the field, be it practice, or in a game, for the first time.

For defensive end Mykel Williams, his moment came during the season-opener.

“First game of the year against Oregon,” Williams smiled. “I got my helmet knocked off.”

In the weeks and months that followed, Mykel did plenty of knocking of his own and as the Bulldogs look ahead to the start of spring practice in March, the Columbus native is poised to take another step in his development that could put him among the elite at his position in the entire SEC.

“It’s been a process,” Williams said. “Nothing comes easy here at Georgia, and you’ve got to earn everything you get.”

The former Hardaway standout did that and more.

In 15 games, Williams had quite the impact, finishing with 28 tackles, including 4.5 sacks for losses of 41 yards. His 31 quarterback pressures tied with Jalen Carter for the team lead.

It did not take head coach Kirby Smart long to realize he might have someone special on his hands.

“The No. 1 thing that stands out about him is his work ethic,” Smart recalled during SEC Media Days. “I look out my window and I see him out there doing extra after every practice. I left work the other day on a Sunday, and he’s out there hitting a sled on Sunday. When you have a freshman that’s out there on Sunday on his own, on turf, 115 degrees out there, and he’s striking a sled, that’s someone special.”

Williams proved during the course of the year that his effort was not for show.

Others took notice, too, as Williams was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, as awarded by the 14 league coaches.

Position coach Tray Scott gushes about what he sees daily from his young protégé.

"I love him because he’s a really hard worker, and is a willing learner," Scott said. "That has helped him tremendously. He’s good versus the run, he’s a natural pass rusher, bend, and an athletic guy, but those are the things that helped him as a player."

Williams is not done yet. Scott says he believes the rising sophomore can and will get even better.

"When you become a virtuoso at something, you do it so well that you can’t mess it up. We’re not to that point yet," Scott said. "There’s always little nicks and knacks that we can work on, like 'Hey, let’s make you step this way, because if the running back is over here, you want to be able to do this. Or ‘Hey, let me do this with my weight,’ so we’re always tweaking on it, and we’re searching for perfection, knowing we never could get there."

When asked about areas he feels he’s improved and areas where more work is needed, Williams rattles them off with ease.

Playbook, physicality, and continuing to get stronger in the weight room are three.

“Really all three of those things plus a little bit more,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into being a Georgia Bulldog, and those are three of the things you do.”

Williams’ willingness to learn has also been huge for his success.

“You’ve got to have a Coach me up mentality and just accept it and realize (coaches) are just trying to help you get better,” said Williams, who said his path to playing time this fall turned out just like Smart said it could be.

“They’ve held true to everything they told me when they were recruiting me,” Williams said. “They told me if I come in and work like I work, then I would have an opportunity to play early.”