CJ Williams explains Wisconsin transfer: Its an offense that can be unstoppable

Publish date: 2024-05-04

USC transfer CJ Williams picked up the phone Friday night a few minutes after he finished a call with Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo. Part of the conversation centered on interest other schools had in poaching the prized wide receiver in the last days before he was set to enroll in Madison.

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Earlier in the evening, Wisconsin landed its second wide receiver target in two days, as Oklahoma State transfer Bryson Green, the Cowboys’ second-leading wideout last season, joined Williams in committing to the Badgers. Others wanted to know if Williams — a four-star prospect and top-10 wide receiver in the 2022 class from Mater Dei High School in California — had concerns about whether he would earn enough opportunities with the Badgers, who he chose over West Virginia.

“I have no type of worry in my mind,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, I look at it like this: I look at it like we’re trying to be the next wide receiver room of the Ohio State or the Alabamas or that LSU 2019 offense.

“We want to be the one when ESPN comes to town, they look at every single receiver and are like, ‘This guy could kill you on any given day and they’re all going to be playing on Sundays.’ That’s actually the ultimate goal I feel like is to compete and outwork the next person so that they come back and outwork you the next day. That’s just the goal in my mind and the objective.”

Ain’t this they’ve been waitin’ for?#OnWisconsin 🦡 pic.twitter.com/nhrm8xrgY3

— CJ Williams (@CJWilliams_03) January 12, 2023

Under the direction of Luke Fickell, the Badgers have brought in 13 scholarship transfers — nine on offense, including three former four-star quarterbacks and four wide receivers. In the interview, printed below, Williams not only expresses great confidence in his abilities, but also in what he believes is possible at Wisconsin as part of Longo’s offensive transformation.

Editor’s note: This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

Why did you end up picking Wisconsin?

For me, I think it’s family. I think family is one word that is overarching. I’m a California kid. Raised out here, born in Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but raised in California for the majority of my life. Getting away from home, it’s different for sure, especially when you went to college at home for a year. I was going back and forth between school on the weekends during the spring and I was kind of living the life of what you would say is a homebody but also being able to be free on my own.

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When I went on this Wisconsin visit, I went on the West Virginia visit, I’ve been on multiple visits before, whether it was Notre Dame or whatever, Texas, sometimes I got the feeling that it was still a visit. It didn’t feel like home to me at the end of the day. It felt like it was something that I wasn’t always comfortable with.

I think when I went to Wisconsin, it was more like home. Honestly, it was. It felt like coach Longo, coach Fickell, (receivers) coach (Mike) Brown, they looked at me like their kid and they looked at me like someone they wanted to develop from a young man standpoint and from an academic standpoint and also from a football player standpoint. I think that’s really important.

And then also just the players I was around while on my visit. There were only two players there (Cam Large and Ross Gengler). But they were just so bought into the fact that Wisconsin is such a great place with great people. It kind of made me feel like this is a close-knit place for me. I thought I fit in there pretty well.

What did Phil Longo tell you about how he sees you fitting into the offense?

We have a relationship that I feel like this is a guy I can trust, a guy that’s going to put me in the best situation to succeed. I think that was the ideal thing for him at the end of the day. He’s going to give me an opportunity to go win that No. 1 receiver spot or earn the No. 2, earn playing time. He’s going to give me an opportunity to do whatever I want and whatever my ability allows me to do.

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And the same thing with coach Brown. They’re going to put me in a position to succeed. Whatever comes from that, comes from that. I think for them I’ll be playing particularly outside receiver but also have the ability to move to the inside, which they see as very valuable in his offense. Creating mismatches and matchup problems so that the defense can never double you or just single you out.

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What do you think you do well as a wide receiver that you’re bringing to Wisconsin?

I think my biggest thing and my biggest accomplishment is I do the little things right, whether it’s contested catches, taking angles, reading coverages. I like to do the little things. And that way the big things, if I do the little things right, the guy in front of me I’m going to kill him because I already know to that point I out-studied you in the film room, I outworked you coming into the season or coming into this game and I’m just more competitive than you. So that’s kind of what I bring is my competitive nature.

I bring a different type of ability than you would say anybody else in the room kind of has. I think it’s my route savvy that I bring and all those different things. I’m a smart football player that plays the game the right way and plays it to win. I think that’s the most important thing.

What are your impressions of Luke Fickell?

I love coach Fickell. Obviously, he is the head coach, but he is more concerned with the defense and I understand that. I like guys that are culture guys. That’s my biggest thing. Coming out of high school, I went to a high school that was very rich in culture. It was a Catholic school. It was big on being a good person and just doing the right thing.

I think he’s exactly like that and exactly like me in that sense. That’s what you kind of search for when you have a head coach and you’re looking for the next place to go as far as whether it’s coming out of high school or in the transfer portal.

I want coach Fickell to be one of my biggest fans outside of just my parents and my family. And I also want my wide receiver coach to be one of my biggest fans and my OC to be one of my biggest fans. I think that’s important for everyone on the team. I think coach Fickell should be our No. 1 supporter. And I feel that way with him.

How soon after you entered the portal did you start to consider Wisconsin or hear from the Badgers?

With my recruitment out of the portal, it was kind of weird. A rumor was leaked that I was going to jump in the portal I think three days prior to me even turning in my papers or signing the papers. I know it was a thought in my mind but it was leaked.

So I had a couple schools hit me up. I wasn’t allowed to respond. They hit me up and I knew they had interest just because they had hit me up, but I wasn’t officially in the portal. Wisconsin wasn’t in that first wave and that’s probably because they follow the rules better than others. I was like, “Yo, Wisconsin, do you think they have some interest in me?” Because I was talking to Nick (Evers) a little bit. He was like, “Dude, they love you. Trust me.”

go-deeper

The first day, it was a Thursday I think was when I jumped in the portal, I think one of the first calls I got was coach Fickell introducing himself and then coach Longo. And then that night, Thursday night, we were like, “Let’s scramble.” We scrambled to put a visit together for me to fly out Friday evening. It was a pretty quick turnaround for me as far as when I jumped in the portal and Wisconsin became a priority.

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So are you pretty familiar with Nick Evers?

Yeah. Me and Nick, we’re close actually. Prior to this college football season, we played together at the All-American Bowl. He was on the East team. I was on the West team. It was me, him and Cade Klubnik all kind of buddied up on the weekend.

Nick ended up getting COVID, so I didn’t get to see him play. But Cade had great things to say about him when he was away and in his room, which he told me. And also as a person, I like him. Not just that one or two nights that we spent together.

It’s hard to ignore what Wisconsin has done with its quarterback room. How much did the quarterback recruiting contribute to your decision to want to be a part of this?

For me, one of the bigger things is you look at the now and you see, OK, they’ve got Tanner Mordecai. Because Tanner committed before me. You’re like, “That’s good. That’s good for me right now, but I still have two more years of eligibility. What’s going to happen after Tanner goes to the league?” Because I have no doubt Tanner will put up crazy stats in order to go to the league in this offense. But what about the future?

They get Nick Evers. And then they get the cat that they got this week (Braedyn Locke), and he was actually on the visit with me. He’s a great guy. The way they’re doing it is the right way because they’re getting guys that they can develop and they’re going to sit behind Tanner of course, if Tanner wins the position.

Tanner is going to go out there and do his thing, which I have no doubt he will. And then Nick and Braedyn are going to be able to battle it out for the next year to put the team in the best position to compete and win. But I like the way they’re doing it. I think it sets it up well for the future, for young receivers like me, guys that are coming on their second or third year.

Williams was the No. 6 prospect in California in 2022. (Courtesy of Mater Dei High School football)

You were a four-star player and top-10 wide receiver in your class. That makes you the highest-rated receiver Wisconsin has ever gotten since these rankings began. Do you feel a sense of wanting to live up to that expectation at all?

Oh, 100 percent. I feel like not only to the people in Wisconsin but to the people that believed in me. I owe them a lot because of how much belief they’ve put in me so far and just being that I’m in the position to go out there and be one of the highest-rated receivers they’ve ever had and put on for the state of California, be able to put on for the people of Wisconsin, I think it’s big time. I think for me, kind of stick to my guns, do what I do well and not let it get over my head.

But at the same time I also know I’m not going to be the highest-rated guy they’re going to ever have because I know just the way coach Longo does it and coach Brown, they’re going to get another guy. If I was a receiver coming out, a five-star guy, I’d for sure pay attention to the University of Wisconsin, especially with the numbers we’re going to put up this year and the amount of talent I think we’re going to produce.

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I think there’s a good shot I won’t be that guy for a long time. But just in the now, it’s a good feeling. There’s pressure there, but I’m ready to live up to it and grind my butt off when I get up in the spring to put myself in the best position to succeed.

Did you have a chance to talk to Bryson Green, the newest wide receiver commit?

I have not been able to talk to him. I knew prior to him committing that he was coming. They wanted to let me know that. Not for the reason that they wanted to persuade me or any type of thing. They just wanted to be completely transparent, which I appreciate.

I think right now we’re looking at he may be my roommate because we’ll both get in there at the same time, so that’ll be cool. But I’m looking forward to pushing him and him pushing me. I’ve heard he has a pretty good game.

Finally, what do you think is possible for Wisconsin’s offense given what you know about the players they’ve brought in and coach Longo’s history?

It’s an offense that can be unstoppable. Because if you look at it from an all-around perspective, we’ve got receivers. In my opinion we do. A lot of people would say these guys aren’t proven enough as other Big Ten guys, whether it be Ohio State, Penn State guys, whatever. But I think we have the receivers to go out there and put on a show and spread out that defense.

And then once we spread them out, we’ve got two running backs in Chez (Mellusi) and Braelon (Allen)  that can take a yard off the first step, hit the hole and go. I think the sky is the limit for us, honestly, and I’m excited to see what we can do this year and I know the defense is going to back us up whenever we don’t perform. But I doubt that’s ever going to happen.

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(Top photo: Courtesy of Mater Dei High School football)

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