SPRINGDALE Damian Williams is at the crossroads of his NFL career.
Williams has played the previous four years with the Tennessee Titans after being drafted in the third round by the team in 2010. But he is an impending unrestricted free agent who’ll likely test the open market beginning in March when teams can begin to sign new players.
Williams could return to the Titans, but that situation is complicated after former coach Mike Munchak was fi red following a 7-9 season. Tennessee replaced Munchak with Ken Whisenhunt, who has replaced nine coaches from the previous staff , including offensive coordinator Dowell Loggings, a former player at Arkansas.
Williams said he’s had little contact with anyone from the new staff after Whisenhunt was hired by the Titans on Jan. 13.
“I haven’t but my agent has,” said Williams, who led Springdale High to a 14-0 record and Class AAAAA state championship in 2005. “I know the coaches from the Titans were at the Senior Bowl looking at the top college players for the NFL draft. I’m not saying I won’t re-sign but, right now, I’m thinking I’ll probably test the (free agent) market and see what’s out there.” MIXED RESULTS
Williams’ best season with the Titans came in 2011, when he caught 45 passes for 592 yards and five touchdowns. He caught 30 passes for 324 yards and no touchdowns in 2012, then was derailed by injuries and increased competition at the receiver position with the Titans this season.
Williams (6-foot-1, 193 pounds) missed six games after he injured a quadriceps muscle while returning a punt against Jacksonville in Week 10. He also missed a game earlier in the year because of a hamstring injury.
“Playing in the NFL is physically demanding,” said Williams, who finished with 15 catches for 178 yards and no touchdowns last season. “It’s a long season and you’re never really completely healthy. You’re just trying to get to where you’re healthier than the next guy. I’m learning diff erent things that will help me take care of my body and increase my longevity for the NFL.”
Williams, who’ll turn 26 in May, should have little problem fi nding a job in the NFL next season. He played all four receiver positions for the Titans and can also returnpunts and kickoffs. At Southern California, Williams turned pro following his junior year when he was selected third-team All-American as a receiver and punt returner.
“Playing special teams is something I want to continue to do,” Williams said. “The more things you can do on the field, the more valuable you can be to a team.”
Whether that’s with Tennessee again is undetermined. Whisenhunt and his staff are in the reviewing process after watching video last week from the Titans’ games last season.
“I’ve seen a lot of good things on the tape,” Whisenhunt said in an interview with the Associated Press. “But we’re not ready to make any decisions or summations. I’ve seen a lot of diff erent guys making plays and doing some good things. I’ve seen a lot of mistakes you’d like to think you can correct and clean up. I’ve been pleased with the effort. If you had to start somewhere, that’s a good place to start.” THE JOURNEY
Williams is accustomed to change, beginning in 2006 after his freshman year at Arkansas when he caught 19 passes for 235 yards and was selected to the SEC All-Freshman team. But internal strife within the Arkansas program prompted Williams to transfer to Southern California, where his career took off under Pete Carroll.
Williams played two years at USC and was voted a team captain as a junior.
He finished his USC career with 128 receptions for 1,879 yards and15 touchdowns. He was also a prolifi c special teams player who returned 25 punts for 339 yards and two touchdowns.
He earned a degree at USC and started a Bible study group with former high school teammate Mitch Mustain, who also transferred from Arkansas to USC.
Williams remains a college football fan and he followed closely the paths this season of both USC and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, his former high school coach at Springdale. Malzahn was named national coach of the year after leading Auburn to an 11-2 record in his first season as the head coach at Auburn. The Tigers fell just shy of winning a national championship after giving up a late touchdown in a 34-31 defeat to Florida State.
USC’s season was much more unstable, starting with the fi ring of Lane Kiftn after a blowout loss at Arizona State. Ed Orgeron took over as interim coach and went 6-2 for the Trojans, who fi nished 10-4 after a 45-20 victory over Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
But Orgeron resigned after being bypassed for the head coaching job at USC, which went to former Washington Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian. Williams played for both Orgeron and Sarkisian when they were assistant coaches at USC.
“I love coach O and I would’ve been happy had they kept him as head coach,” Williams said. “But I like coach Sarkisian as well. I think he and his staff will do a good job of bringing the program back tothe prominence it deserves.” BACK TO WORK
Williams returned to Springdale last summer and helped with a football camp at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium. His trips home will be less frequent now that his parents, David and Karen Williams, moved to Dallas seven months ago.
Williams trained before last season with a group of Dallas-area athletes that included Olympic gold medalists Usain Bolt. Williams still owns a home in Nashville, Tenn., and he’ll start work again for what he hopes will be a successful fifth season in the NFL.
“I usually take the month of January off, then start up again the first week in February,” Williams said. “Players come and go in the NFL every week. It’s a business and you try to be prepared and hold on as long as possible.”
Sports, Pages 7 on 02/02/2014