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Ex-track UTSA star Williams growing in Cowboys secondary
By Chad Peters - Express-News Web Posted: 08/05/2010 12:00 CDT
A week ago, just hours after his surprising signing with the Dallas Cowboys, Teddy Williams squatted and backpedaled for the first time on a football field.
The UTSA track star-turned-NFL cornerback said the moment felt every bit as awkward as it looked, with Williams' hips showing little bend and his feet chopping at the turf as he motioned backward at the Alamodome.
“It's a completely different feeling,” said Williams, 22.
Yet it is something he has embraced a week into his new job.
Williams, back in football for the first time since playing wide receiver for Tyler John Tyler High School in 2005, is starting to look like an actual defensive back.
And he says he feels like one, too.
Take the scene where Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman recently approached Williams and inquired about his background at receiver, when a group of defensive backs quickly intervened.
“The DBs came in and were like, ‘Nope. You can't have him. He's with us,'” Williams recalled. “The guys have accepted me as a defensive back. They always tell me I'm a DB now, not a receiver.”
His cohorts in the secondary appear to be taking it upon themselves to ensure he succeeds.
Secondary coach Dave Campo spends nearly 20 minutes going over technique with Williams following every workout, a relationship that Williams says carries over into meetings.
Meanwhile, Pro Bowl cornerback Terence Newman has taken on nearly as active a role in Williams' development.
From the rookie's very first practice last Thursday, Newman has taken time between drills and after practice to help Williams go from a stiff-looking newbie to a player who moves almost as smoothly as anyone else.
“There is no ceiling,” Newman said. “He can go as far as he wants.”
Campo cautions that Williams still has “a long way to go” but admits Williams is ahead of where he anticipated him to be at this point.
Unlikely to make the final 53-man roster, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Williams looks like a strong candidate for the practice squad. Head coach Wade Phillips said he could also get a look as a gunner on special teams.
“The only thing you have to do is just watch him on film and watch him get behind (a receiver) and still catch the receiver,” Campo said. “You can't coach that, to close on a guy like he can with his speed.”
Or as wide receiver Patrick Crayton put it: “He is fast as hell, dude.”
Crayton would know, as Williams recorded his first pass breakup while covering the veteran Wednesday. Williams broke on a comeback route and swatted down Tony Romo's pass.
A minor moment for most, it represented something much bigger for a player who could hardly backpedal this time last week.
“I'm glad they see something in me,” Williams said. “Even on the sideline, guys will be like, ‘Teddy, compared to four days ago, you're a completely different person.'
“I see progression. They see progression.”
By Chad Peters - Express-News Web Posted: 08/05/2010 12:00 CDT
A week ago, just hours after his surprising signing with the Dallas Cowboys, Teddy Williams squatted and backpedaled for the first time on a football field.
The UTSA track star-turned-NFL cornerback said the moment felt every bit as awkward as it looked, with Williams' hips showing little bend and his feet chopping at the turf as he motioned backward at the Alamodome.
“It's a completely different feeling,” said Williams, 22.
Yet it is something he has embraced a week into his new job.
Williams, back in football for the first time since playing wide receiver for Tyler John Tyler High School in 2005, is starting to look like an actual defensive back.
And he says he feels like one, too.
Take the scene where Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman recently approached Williams and inquired about his background at receiver, when a group of defensive backs quickly intervened.
“The DBs came in and were like, ‘Nope. You can't have him. He's with us,'” Williams recalled. “The guys have accepted me as a defensive back. They always tell me I'm a DB now, not a receiver.”
His cohorts in the secondary appear to be taking it upon themselves to ensure he succeeds.
Secondary coach Dave Campo spends nearly 20 minutes going over technique with Williams following every workout, a relationship that Williams says carries over into meetings.
Meanwhile, Pro Bowl cornerback Terence Newman has taken on nearly as active a role in Williams' development.
From the rookie's very first practice last Thursday, Newman has taken time between drills and after practice to help Williams go from a stiff-looking newbie to a player who moves almost as smoothly as anyone else.
“There is no ceiling,” Newman said. “He can go as far as he wants.”
Campo cautions that Williams still has “a long way to go” but admits Williams is ahead of where he anticipated him to be at this point.
Unlikely to make the final 53-man roster, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Williams looks like a strong candidate for the practice squad. Head coach Wade Phillips said he could also get a look as a gunner on special teams.
“The only thing you have to do is just watch him on film and watch him get behind (a receiver) and still catch the receiver,” Campo said. “You can't coach that, to close on a guy like he can with his speed.”
Or as wide receiver Patrick Crayton put it: “He is fast as hell, dude.”
Crayton would know, as Williams recorded his first pass breakup while covering the veteran Wednesday. Williams broke on a comeback route and swatted down Tony Romo's pass.
A minor moment for most, it represented something much bigger for a player who could hardly backpedal this time last week.
“I'm glad they see something in me,” Williams said. “Even on the sideline, guys will be like, ‘Teddy, compared to four days ago, you're a completely different person.'
“I see progression. They see progression.”
