Nebraska has added eight new defensive backs to their 2022 roster. The latest is portal addition Kaine Williams from Marrero (La.) John Ehret, who was originally part of the 2021 class for Alabama.
Williams was looking for a new beginning and found what he was looking for in Lincoln when he took an official visit to check out the Huskers this past weekend.
The things that drove Williams to commit this weekend were pretty simple. He was looking for a connection with the coaching staff and also wanted to see himself in the defense. Nebraska nailed it in those two areas for Williams.
“It was the coaches being authentic with me,” Williams said. “Everyone was so genuine. It is also how they will use me in their system. That really sold me.”
There has been some speculation about where Williams will play in the Nebraska defensive backfield. The real answer is "everywhere".
The Nebraska staff doesn't want to limit or look for a reason to pull Williams off of the field if he is capable of playing all of the spots.
“They see me playing everything in the secondary. They can see me as safety to corner to nickel. I wasn’t looking for that type of opportunity, but anything that can help me better my game and become more versatile is good. It will get me on the field more too.”
The Huskers have added eight defensive backs to their roster with the addition of Williams. He didn't need to understand anything about the players that were added along with him. He knows that he controls his destiny in Lincoln.
“We didn’t talk about anything with the depth chart or any of the guys on the roster. You can’t go anywhere and just start. I understand that I am not guaranteed anything, but it’s all on me. Once I get there and get the playbook down it’s in my hands and the coaches make their decisions at that point.”
Nebraska assistant coach Mickey Joseph is from the same town as Williams, and he that connection also played a factor in his decision.
“Yeah, it helped a lot,” Williams said. “Going somewhere where someone is where I am from is huge. It helps to see other guys from Louisiana here, but I made this decision because of what was best for me.”
Williams was in Lincoln this past weekend and wasn't the only portal transfer from Alabama on their visit. Ironically, Williams wasn't aware that defensive lineman Stephon Wynn was visiting Nebraska the same weekend that he was.
“Stephon Wynn and I were there this weekend together," Williams said. "I really didn’t even know that he was going to be out there the same weekend. We landed in Omaha and they picked us up and once we made it to the hotel one of the recruiting staff said Wynn and his family had landed. We made it to the hotel around 9:00 and they got there about 10:00.”
Nebraska closed the deal with Williams ahead of another planned official visit that he was set to take.
“I took an official visit to Kansas the weekend before Nebraska,” Williams said. “I was supposed to go to Indiana this coming weekend after Nebraska. I saw what I needed to at Nebraska.”
Williams will have four years of eligibility remaining after only seeing action in the season finale against Georgia when he entered the game for special teams. Williams will be back up in Lincoln next week to start workouts.
