Exclusive interview with Fayetteville State CB Joshua Williams: HBCUs, Senior Bowl, J. Cole, and more

The NY Jets were able to meet with quite a few intriguing mid-round prospects at this year's Senior Bowl, and one player who might have caught their eye is Fayetteville State cornerback Joshua Williams.

Williams has one of the most interesting stories of any prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft. A former no-star recruit out of high school, Williams spent a year at prep school before attending his hometown Fayetteville State.

At nearly 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Williams has the physical traits that teams look for in a cornerback prospect, and that should see him drafted either on Day 2 or 3 later this month.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Williams and talk about everything ranging from his football beginnings to representing Division-II and HBCUs at the NFL level to even his respect for fellow Fayetteville native, J. Cole.

Special thanks to Joshua for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat just a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2022 NFL Draft. Below is a full transcription of our conversation.

Joshua Williams on what led to his love of football

Justin Fried: "So you're originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina. I feel like when most people think Fayetteville they think basketball, guys like Dennis Smith Jr. You grew up playing football and running track. What was it that initially drew you to those sports at a young age?"

Joshua Williams: "I was always a big football fan from a young age. As far as track goes, my dad was a track and [he] ran track, so that was inevitable. I was always going to run track. Like you said, there's a lot of people that play basketball around here, but there's a lot of guys that play football as well. Most of my friends, they all wanted to play football. We all grew up playing football. That was my first love."