What better way to get to know one of our new draftees than to go straight to his college coach? For Javarris Williams, that coach is James Webster, head coach at Tennessee State in Nashville. Coach Webster kindly took the time to spend a few minutes with Arrowhead Pride to discuss our new running back and he has no concerns at all about the level of competition he faced or his chances to succeed at the pro level.
AP: What kind of player was Javarris to coach?
Coach James Webster: Well, he's a very intelligent player. He picks up his assignments well and he'll do a good job on that at the next level. You can tell by his body that he worked hard getting physically ready to play. He's a very strong young man and he's a very physical player. He's always ready to play. He also wants the football. He's ready to carry the load. He's a guy that asks for the ball and wants to be the bell cow. He cherishes that role.
AP: What about locker room presence?
Webster: I don't know he'll be a very outspoken person in the locker room. I see him as someone who will go about his business and fit in with the other guys and be a positive influence. But he's not outspoken.
AP: When you hear concerns about level of competition, what do you think of that?
Webster: That's bullcrap. That's what I say to it. If you're a good football player, it doesn't matter what level you play on. You can look all through the NFL and you'll find players from 1-AA programs or Division II. It doesn't matter what level you play on. We had Dominique Rodgers [Cromartie] a year ago so what does that mean? What about Tony Romo? Or the guy that's the quarterback for the Ravens...
AP: [Joe] Flacco?
Webster: Yeah, he played 1-AA, right? What people don't understand is that there are a lot of football players that were in D-1 that transferred down to have an opportunity to play or whatever the reason may be. That's not the case with Javarris, but it's bull to talk about the competition level. The big difference is not the quality of the athlete, but we just don't have that many players. So Javarris has played against very good competition and he's gained the yards he has against excellent football players. If you're a good football player, you're a good football player, no matter what level you play on.
AP: How early on did you know you had a special player in the program?
Webster: Well, when I got here they had redshirted him his freshman year. I was jumping for joy the first time I saw him in spring practice. I was saying 'Thank you' to the head coach who was here before me. How do you redshirt this guy? That means we got him for four years. It didn't take long. You put the ball in his hands and he runs with it. It's simple. It's not that complicated at running back. They either run or they can't run. And he can run.
AP: Some have projected him as a possible fullback.
Webster: I don't see him as a fullback. That's not to say that he can't play fullback or that he won't be one, but he was so valuable to us. We did ask him to block on pass protection, but he wasn't a blocker for us. When we were throwing a football, he did a good job of that. You might think of him as a fullback because he's so strong and so big, but I think of him as a running back. He may prove to be a great fullback, but for us, we weren't going to take that talent and blow up some 300 pound guy.