Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams can't wait to compete for the first time in a regular-season game against former Auburn teammate Ronnie Brown - and the stakes are high.
Tampa Bay's leading rusher remains close friends with Brown, who tops the Dolphins with 566 yards on the ground while starring in Miami's Wildcat formation. Brown was selected with the second pick in the 2005 draft, three spots ahead of Williams, and the college backfield teammates travel together in the offseason.
"We've sweat together, we've cried together, we've done a lot of things together,'' Williams said. "It's good to see a guy like that get off to a good start. Both of us are doing what we love to do. We always try to do two or three trips together, we hang out and chill out.''
As a rookie, Brown was limited to 22 yards in nine carries in his only regular-season meeting against the Bucs, a 27-13 victory by Tampa Bay in 2005 as Williams was sidelined by injury.
"Ronnie's a very talented guy, he can do a lot of things,'' Williams said.
According to Williams, the Bucs experimented with the Wildcat formation, but scrapped the idea because Greg Olson replaced Jeff Jagodzinski as offensive coordinator only 10 days before the season opener.
"Early in the year, we did toy with it here and there,'' he said. "They actually had Peanut (Clifton Smith) at the point and me as the guy coming in motion. We definitely have the personnel, but Coach Olson kind of got thrown in the fire and it was hard to try to do something else.''
Williams said he and Brown have some wagers going for Sunday's matchup, covering expenses for their next trip together.
"I'm going to Africa -- two weeks on him,'' Williams said.
What if Brown wins?
"I think he said something about Australia,'' Williams said. "He would pick something like that.''
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