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."

Switching from wide receiver to cornerback

JF: "Right, and when you started playing, you were primarily a wide receiver growing up, even into high school. It wasn’t until your senior year that you made the switch to cornerback. How did that move come about? Was it your decision or was it a coach’s? Who made that call?"

JW: "It was my coach's. I was going into my senior year and I wasn't really getting much traction, but they knew I had a lot of skill and potential so I moved to corner. Things kind of just took off from there going into spring ball and the camps during the summer. My senior year was pretty good, it was my first year at corner. I still played a few snaps at wide receiver during the year, but that's really when I started to love the game even more. When I moved to defense."

Joshua Williams on his time at Palmetto Prep

JF: "Right, and it's hard to argue it wasn't the correct move in hindsight. Perhaps because of your lack of experience at cornerback, you weren't highly recruited coming out of high school. You ended up spending a year at Palmetto Prep in South Carolina before attending Fayetteville State. What was that year like for you, and how do you think it prepared you for the years following that, at Fayetteville State and now entering the NFL?"

JW: "That year I just did a lot of growing, physically but especially mentally. I played free safety that year. Coming from corner at Jack Britt [High School] where they had me manned up most of the time, now, I'm a deep-field safety. A middle-of-the-field safety. It was a big difference for me. I had to learn a lot of defensive schematics and things like that. That was when I learned the most about defense: how it works, who's doing what, and when they're doing it. That was probably my biggest takeaway from prep school."

Representing Division-II and HBCU athletes at the Senior Bowl

JF: "And that's such a huge difference like you said. Wide receiver and cornerback are very much mano-a-mano. So going from that, where you played most of your lifetime, to now playing safety, that's a big difference.

Not only were you the only Division II athlete at this year's Senior Bowl, but you were one of just two HBCU representatives in Mobile. What did it mean to you to represent both Division II athletes and HBCU alumni on a stage as large as the Senior Bowl?"

JW: "It meant a lot just to be able to be the representative of HBCU and D-II football. I wanted to put on a good show and show the talent that we have. There were a lot of bigger schools that I was going against, and I get that they worked hard to get where they went to, but there's a lot of great football being played at D-II and HBCU [schools]."

JF: "For sure, and you look at guys like Darius Leonard, Robert Mathis, and what Deion Sanders is doing down at Jackson State, the game is changing in a lot of ways. And I think players like you, people like you, are paving the way for that next generation of D-II and HBCU athletes to hopefully get a chance to shine on that stage. The more people like you that come through and find success in college and in the NFL, it goes a long way."

Experience with the NY Jets staff at the Senior Bowl

JF: "At the Senior Bowl, you played for the National Team, which was coached by the Jets' coaching staff. What was the experience like working with Coach Middleton, Coach Rutenberg, and that whole staff?"

JW: "It was great, man. I was, of course, with [Jets DB] Coach Tony Odom a lot of the week. I soaked up all of that knowledge. Even though that was about two months ago, I still now look back at some of the things I was taught there, and some of the advice they gave me. It was a blessing being able to soak up all of that knowledge from [Coach Odom] and [Jets defensive assistant] Coach Ricky Manning Jr. They're all just talented and knowledgeable."

Joshua Williams' favorite players to watch

JF: "Absolutely. Do you have any NFL players that you model your game after or just like to watch?"

JW: "I watch a lot of guys. Darius Slay, of course everyone watches Jalen Ramsey. I'm a big Stephon Gilmore fan. Xavien Howard, Trevon Diggs. I just watch everybody, take a little bit from their game, and try to attribute it to my game."

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Potential interest from the NY Jets and other teams

JF: "I think every cornerback I ask that question to says Darius Slay. Every single one of them. I don't know if it's that underdog or alpha mentality that he has, but every one of them, without failure, answers Darius Slay. And I can't disagree either.

I know you worked with the Jets at the Senior Bowl. Are there any teams that have shown a little more interest than others that you could potentially see yourself with come draft day?"

JW: "Maybe within the coming week I'll be able to answer that more specifically, but as of right now it's almost like a free-for-all. There's a lot of time and a lot of things that can happen. To pick a name or a team would just be me throwing a dart. I can't think of one specific team that is way more than the others. I will say that speaking with all of these teams, they definitely do their research. They're going to get all of the information out of you that they can. This is probably the most background digging that I've seen in my life. They pulled up stuff from middle school. It's really crazy."

Weirdest questions Joshua Williams was asked by NFL teams

JF: "Man, I always like asking this question. What was the wildest question you were asked throughout the entire draft cycle?"

JW: "The wildest question, just off the wall random, was what sport did my girlfriend play, how tall was she, and was she good? I don't know about that one, that's crazy."

JF: [laughs] "See, I don't understand what that information would do."

JW: "I don't either."

JF: "Maybe it's to see how you respond...but how tall she is? That's bizarre. That's very odd." [laughs]

Is Joshua Williams a J. Cole fan?

JF: "Finally, before I get to a couple of quite-hitter questions, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the man who, I don't want to say put your city on the map because it's a big city, but someone who many associate with Fayetteville. And that's J. Cole. Are you a J. Cole fan? You have any favorite songs?"

JW: "Man, I think everybody's a J. Cole fan. He has a lot of great songs, but my favorite right now would probably be Work Out. It's a J. Cole classic. "

JF: "I'm partial to Change, I think that's an underrated song on "4 Your Eyez Only." Fantastic album, super underrated song. Of course, I had to ask you, being from Fayetteville." [laughs]

JW: [laughs] "Yeah man, I got you."

Favorite hobbies outside of football

JF: "Before we go, just a couple of quite-hitter questions to keep it light. What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of football?"

JW: "On the rare occasion that I'm not playing football, I like to watch movies. I play Madden on PlayStation. Call of Duty too. For a while I was fishing. I haven't been able to go fishing in a while, it's been a little cold, but hopefully I can get back out there and do that."

JF: "Are you a Franchise guy or Ultimate Team? What's your preference?"

JW: "I play Ultimate Team."

JF: "Ahh I see. See, I'm a Franchise guy, I haven't gotten Madden in a few years because unfortunately that mode's not doing so great." [laughs]

JW: [laughs] "I got you."

Go-to karaoke song

JF: "Lastly, what's your go-to karaoke song? It doesn't have to be your favorite song, but if a mic was put in front of your face right now, what are you singing?"

JW: "My favorite would have been some Alicia Keys, but if we're talking karaoke, it was that song from "Remember the Titans." It's like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

JF: "Oh yeah, Marvin Gaye. I love it. Hey man, I think you can hit those Alicia Keys notes, maybe you can get up there." [laughs]

JW: [laughs] "Nah, nah, nah."

JF: "Alright man, Joshua I appreciate you taking the time. I know you've got a busy few weeks coming up so best of luck with everything, and I'm pulling for you."

JW: "Yes sir, thank you so much. Thanks for having me my man."