HOUSTON — There are plenty New Jersey stories here at Super Bowl LI, but not all of them have to do with Rutgers.
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Some of them didn’t even get a scholarship offer from the Scarlet Knights.
“You had to bring it up,” Nick Williams, the Falcons’ reserve slot receiver by way of Windsor, N.J., said with a smile earlier this week.
Williams was not offered by then-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano when he graduated from Hun School in 2009. The Times of Trenton’s 2008 Prep Player of the Year landed at UConn instead. He made sure to remind Rutgers what they missed when he was there. Williams had a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in the 2010 meeting between the old Big East rivals (Rutgers won 27-24), and then 158 total return yards in UConn’s 40-22 upset in 2011, a game that cost Rutgers a shot at a BCS bowl.
Now the 5-foot-10, 184-pound wideout has battled his way to the biggest game of his life.
Heavy emphasis on the battle part.
“Every week for him is a fight,” Falcons wide receivers coach Raheem Morris, an Irvington native, said. “Whether he’s going to be active, whether he’s going to be on the roster, whether he’s going to be a productive player, whether he’s going to be the third-down specialist.”
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, a Morristown native, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff utilize what they call CT grades, grading every Falcon on competitiveness and toughness throughout the season.
“Those two things, it may not show up in a production sheet, but there’s a real standard of how you want to play,” Quinn said. “Each player in each game is given a CT grade, and then the players in their meeting rooms also give themselves one and their unit one to see how we competed as a unit, what our toughness was as a unit. It’s been a good guideline for us.”
Morris thinks one player represents the system best.
“Nick has a great, unique talent and he is an unbelievable competitor. That’s his niche. That’s his edge,” Morris said. “That’s what he does really well. Nick kind of defines what our team is about.”
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When he was at UConn, Williams tried to learn by observing obvious role models: Former Patriots wideouts Wes Welker, then current stars Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. He’s also watched, and worked out with, Patriots wideout/fellow Jersey guy Chris Hogan.
Now they’re together in the same city, playing in the ultimate game, albeit on different sides.
“I try and study guys who have similar attributes to me who have been successful, watch film and steal different things to implement them,” Williams said. “To do what [Hogan] did in [the AFC title game], knowing his story and his career, is pretty cool.”
Amendola, Edelman and Hogan will all play Sunday, barring an unforeseen disaster. Williams does not enjoy that same guarantee. Like most players on the back end of an active roster, his career has been one of twists and turns.
Williams signed with the Redskins in 2013 as an undrafted free agent, appearing in five games when not on the team’s practice squad. Washington then waived him in September of 2014, and was out of the NFL for the rest of that season.
Without a team, Williams returned home to Mercer County. He got his personal trainer certification and began working out high school players at Hun and its rival, Peddie. He also went back to school, beginning online work (that is still ongoing) toward an MBA at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Williams didn’t give up on the NFL, but he also wanted to be more prepared for the transition from football to the rest of his life this time. Then, a call came.
Kyle Shanahan, Williams’ offensive coordinator in Washington, took the Falcons’ coordinator position in February of 2015. A week later, Williams signed a futures deal.
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“Nick’s great. He got better in Washington, he came here and he’s been with us these two years in Atlanta, and he’s gotten better each year,” Shanahan, who will officially become the 49ers’ head coach a few minutes after Sunday’s game concludes, said. “He’s always ready to play. He just works and is totally motivated through his own passion. You can coach the heck out of him. And if you’re not, he is coaching the heck out of himself.
“The game’s not too big for him. If we needed Nick, I wouldn’t hesitate to go to him right away. He’s a guy I count on, and trust.”
Williams appeared in 14 games in 2016, setting career highs in receptions (17) and yards (159) with his first two NFL touchdown catches. This year was more challenging. Williams made the Falcons’ initial final cut, only to be released the next day.
Williams returned to the practice squad, and did not get promoted back to the active roster until Dec. 9. He’s only been active for two games since, neither during the postseason. Williams has five catches for 59 yards this year.
“It’s been up and down a little bit, but it’s been great,” Williams said. “You’ve got to ride out the highs and the lows.”
Williams is now scratching and clawing to reach the highest point yet.
“Nick is the ultimate competitor,” Morris said. “Our team is based on competes and toughs, and he defines that role. He’s a guy who is going to absolutely fight you, take you to deep water and drown you. He’s going to find out what he needs to do to be productive that day.”
James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
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