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Jafar Williams gets going as Rutgers wide receivers coach

The last coaching addition to Rutgers’ new staff is settling in as Philadelphia native Jafar Williams will coach the wide receivers during the 2016 season.

“I am trying to get my head around all the craziness that has been going on with moving and recruiting. It’s exciting though,” said Williams, who spent last season coaching the running backs at Purdue.

Before his arrival at Rutgers, Williams did not have many ties to the current RU coaching staff.

“I kind of knew [offensive coordinator] Drew [Mehringer] a little bit through mutual coaches, but I did not have a direct connection with [head] coach [Chris] Ash,” Williams said. “A coach that I worked with at my last stop worked with [Ash] at a previous university so one of all those things mixed together and all of the sudden I get a phone call and I got the ball rolling.”

Williams was first brought on to coach the running backs at Rutgers, but has since been moved to wide receivers coach.

“I coached receivers for my first six years of coaching. It was not until the last five years that I have actually coached running backs,” Williams explained. “The one thing it did is that it gave me perspective of the run game. Being a receiver, you learn things from the top down as opposed to [learning] from the offensive line. So learning the run game in the profession helped develop my skills.”

As a player, Williams was a star wide receiver at Maryland and played under former RU offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen.

“I love Ralph to death. One thing I always respected about him was the fact that he was brutally honest,” Williams said. “It did not always come off the way you wanted it to, but at the end of the day when you walk away, you say that man cares and he is honest.”

Now, just 35 years young, Williams is able to relate to his players on multiple levels.

“I think that is the benefit of being a younger coach. You relate," Williams said. "You are not that far removed from the game. You relate to what they are going through and their experiences and you can give them advice on some of those situations. It’s funny, I met with all of the receivers and I said I probably listen to the same music you listen to, probably wear some of the same clothes you wear. At the same time, I think that also helps you in coaching.”

Williams will now recruit the South Jersey and Philadelphia areas as that is a territory he already knows rather well.

“Visiting with the coaches in South Jersey and Philadelphia, a lot of them said there wasn’t always a consistent face that was going to be around. I have recruited that area before at other schools and other institutions. So I am familiar with the coaches and the area. I think that helps."

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