Oftentimes, Kansas defensive tackle John Williams’ job is to line up right across from KU center Jeremiah Hatch in practice.

The rough play has sometimes ended in altercations.

“Emotions get flaring,” Williams said with a grin on Tuesday. “We might try to throw a little quick punch, but nothing too bad. It’s just the sport and the nature of football. It’s intense.”

Though Williams says he’s friends with Hatch, the two aren’t afraid to go at each other.

“That’s when the emotions and stuff come into play,” Williams said. “I’m like, ‘Hatch, get off me.’ He’s trying to throw me down, trying to get pancakes and whatnot, but I don’t let it happen.

“So it’s good stuff. There’s a lot of emotion that goes in, but it’s all fair play.”

KU will be relying on Williams to stand his ground this season, as he projects as the Jayhawks’ likely starter at defensive tackle following the announcement of senior Pat Dorsey’s broken foot on Monday night. Dorsey is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

As a defensive tackle in KU’s new 3-4 scheme, many times Williams’ role is to occupy two offensive linemen so that his teammates can fill in gaps and make tackles.

“It’s good because I’m a big guy up in there,” Williams said. “They’ve got two bodies on me, and they can’t really move me.”

The junior, though listed at 305 pounds, has been fluctuating between 295 and 300 pounds. That still makes him KU’s heaviest defensive lineman.

“It is important to have some size in there,” Williams said, “because we’re not just trying to get dominated in the run game, driven back.”

The 6-foot-3 Williams came to KU as an O-lineman before getting switched over to defense during his red-shirt freshman season in 2009.

“I’m loving defense, the mentality you’ve got to have,” Williams said. “I feel like it’s a lot more fun. It suits me now.”

KU defensive coordinator Vic Shealy has seen growth from Williams in the last few months.

“He was a guy, you’d ask him, ‘Do you like football?’ and he’d say, ‘Yeah, coach, I like football,'” Shealy said. “But in the spring you would see him have more of a serious mentality on the field.

“You talk to him he locks into you, really wanting to be coached, really wanting to be a good player.”

Though the nose tackle in a 3-4 doesn’t always rack up a ton of stats, Williams said he still has set a goal of a few sacks and tackles-for-loss this season.

“More importantly, I just want to help the team go to a bowl game, because it’s about time,” Williams said. “We need it.”