Resemblance between Williamses — Jack and Darrent — uncanny for Broncos

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 3, 2008 at 8:46 p.m.

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Broncos rookie cornerback Jack Williams possesses "the same characteristics, build and personality" of Darrent Williams, a Broncos cornerback who died in a shooting early New Year's Day 2007, according to another Denver cornerback, Karl Paymah. "It's ironic, I guess," Paymah adds. "But it's a good thing."

The Rocky / 2006

Darrent Williams, center, pictured with Domonique Foxworth, left, and Antwaun Rogers, did have some traits that made him a different person than Jack Williams. "Darrent was more of a live wire vocally . . . more outgoing," Broncos defensive coordinator Bob Slowik says. But "the mannerisms are kind of freaky sometimes."

© The Rocky

Jack Williams learned of his "twin" while he was in college.

© The Rocky

Darrent Williams was happy-go- lucky, as is Jack.

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You look, then do a double take. The resemblance is uncanny.

"It's weird," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "It's almost like deju vu."

"They've got the same characteristics, build and personality," cornerback Karl Paymah said.

Denver's new nickel back wears cornrows, has a ready smile and, despite his 5-foot-9, 185-pound build, is as aggressive as they come at the position, willing to take chances for the big play.

He's even named Williams.

Only 15 months after Darrent Williams' tragic death, Jack Williams walked through the door at Dove Valley and, in many ways, is a carbon copy.

Whether it's God's plan or sheer coincidence, it isn't lost on those who knew and loved "D-Will" that there's something at work here.

"The mannerisms," defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said, "are kind of freaky sometimes."

Even freakier is this story.

When Jack Williams was in college at Kent State, he studied cornerbacks whose games he enjoyed and respected, such as Deion Sanders and Bailey. But Williams often gravitated to the smaller defensive backs such as Dre Bly, who grew up near his Norfolk, Va., hometown.

One day a couple of years ago, his teammate, Andre Kirkland, approached Williams with a cornerback whose game struck a chord.

"He told me, 'I found your twin. I found your twin,' " Jack said. "He said it was Darrent Williams, and he told me that I played just like him and I needed to watch him."

Williams did just that, seeing the 5- foot-8, 188-pound dynamo making an early name for himself with the Broncos in 2005-06, when he was projected to be strictly a special-teams force to begin his career.

Jack Williams now is following the same path.

Getting his opportunity

His insertion on passing downs last weekend for 13 snaps, after getting only one the first three games combined, came after the trade of Domonique Foxworth and dissatisfaction about Paymah's performance at nickel back.

And if Jack Williams can make the same kinds of early defensive contributions as the player he so much resembles, the Broncos will be thrilled.

Bailey, for one, sees a bright future for the team's fourth-round draft choice in April.

"He's very competitive, a smart guy. And he understands what we're trying to do around here," Bailey said. "And that's the funny thing about young guys. They don't understand how to approach the game. But he has an idea of how it's supposed to be done."

Williams flashed his ability during the preseason, nearly taking an interception return the distance before getting tripped up by Dallas' backup quarterback. There would be no shoestring tackle on an 89-yard TD against Arizona in the exhibition finale.

"He's a tough guy. He's competitive," Slowik said. "He's the kind of guy who gets around the ball and is a playmaker, at least from what we've seen in practice. He's always finishing plays and competing."

Williams' appearance against the Chiefs, though, was mixed. He made some mistakes that contributed to Damon Huard's surprising 21-for-28 passing performance. The rookie called his errors "easily correctable" and a function of regaining the feel for the game lost since playing significantly this summer.

"I did some good things, too, so I can't really be mad at myself," he said. "But now I have to go out there and be a little looser, more confident and play like I normally play."

In other words, play aggressively.

That's what he did in college, when he accounted for 20 takeaways (13 interceptions, seven fumble recoveries) in 44 career games.

"I won't take all kinds of stupid chan- ces," Williams said of his playing style. "But you work hard and do film study and know you can take a chance, then, boom."

It wouldn't be the first time in recent months that Williams hit somebody like a bolt out of the blue.

A constant reminder

The comparisons with the player affectionately called "D-Will" came from the moment Jack Williams walked in the door.

"We've been saying that from Day One," Bailey said. "It's the build. He's a happy-go-lucky guy like 'D-Will.' He definitely reminds me of him."

And for those who knew Darrent Williams, seeing similar characteristics in another is considered a blessing, given the grief they experienced when the 2005 second-round pick was murdered early New Year's Day 2007.

"It's ironic, I guess," Paymah said. "But it's a good thing. You're constantly reminded of 'D-Will.' And they're both good guys."

Slowik said that the biggest difference between the two Williamses is that "Darrent was more of a live wire vocally . . . more outgoing." But as far as other aspects, "very similar," he added.

Jack Williams has gotten a second crash course on Darrent Williams' career in his five months in Denver.

Glances in various lockers around Dove Valley continue to find mementos from the late DB. There was the dedication of the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center in Montbello and a fundraiser in the player's memory at a local steakhouse.

The rookie noted that the comparisons are flattering, given the love Darrent Williams still engenders.

"It's definitely a good thing," Jack Williams said. "They wouldn't have built memorials and a center in his name, or people wouldn't have things posted around here or wear the (No. 27) decals on their helmets if he wasn't someone important that they cared about."

• October 4, 2008

  12:12 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  angryman1n writes:

  CBS Sports line reported that the Broncos are second to last in pass defense. How much are we paying these guys?

• October 4, 2008

  2:19 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  BroncoFaninLA writes:

  Pass defense starts with pass rush. Your DB's look a lot better when they don't have to cover receivers for 6 or 7 seconds.

• October 4, 2008

  7:01 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  cmaddog1 writes:

  BroncoFaninLA: Pass defense starts with pass rush. Your DB's look a lot better when they don't have to cover receivers for 6 or 7 seconds.

  Ding Ding we have a winner. Great point.

• October 4, 2008

  7:43 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Rutabaga writes:

  I think Ding Ding is right too. If you flatten the QB so that he is like a pancake and make him really nervous, he'll forget about passing and want to just hand the ball off to guys like that Larry Johnson fellow of KC. Then the Larry Johnson guys will get really mad and run over the pancake flatteners and make them look like waffles. But at least the Broncos will stop the pass...

  Go Broncos... To The Championship and Beyond

  P.S. Ding Ding, is that a real name. It sounds Chinese.

• October 4, 2008

  8:40 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  BMat writes:

  Rutabaga writes:

  I think Ding Ding is right too. If you flatten the QB so that he is like a pancake and make him really nervous, he'll forget about passing and want to just hand the ball off to guys like that Larry Johnson fellow of KC. Then the Larry Johnson guys will get really mad and run over the pancake flatteners and make them look like waffles. But at least the Broncos will stop the pass...

  Go Broncos... To The Championship and Beyond

  P.S. Ding Ding, is that a real name. It sounds Chinese
  ____________

  Just stop it Ruta. You're making me hungry. What's for breakfast?

• October 4, 2008

  9:07 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  valleybronco writes:

  I doesn't matter if you have Champ Bailey and Deon Sanders covering and no pass rush, someone is going to get open. Denver d-line makes third string quarterback look like Joe Montana.

• October 4, 2008

  2:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  caseydc78 writes:

  Second to last in passing defense? Who could possibly be worse? This is the worst defense I've seen. When you have to score at least 35 points to win a game, there's something very wrong with the defense.

• October 4, 2008

  8:31 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  charles1 writes:

  This is a stretch, folks. Don't play on Dwill that way. The dfense is sorry and what you're attmpting to do is show a positive resemblence to something that is terribly broken- the dfense. Dwill and Williams, have no resemblence at all, other than their height. Dwill was more of a hustler and took chances. Williams has not shown any signs of that at all yet. The broncos defense needs work and it will take some time, since thy are trading and releasing folks weekly. As I have stated time and again, the offense is what is important to shanny, not dfense. It seems his aim is that if the offense can score lots of points, hopefully the dfense can hold on. But no way should there be a comparision of Dwill to Williams. Remember, he got smoked a lot last week, and the picks in preseason was agianst teams 3d and 4th squads. Lets stick with the facts: broncos dfense is a work in progress and until shanny gets his head out of his butt and understands that the only way to get to the show (SB) is to have a dfense that keeps people out of the end zone. Stop trying to make light of a sorry defense, given that shanny has sanctioned players that kept folks out of the end zone (Foxworth) and that could stop the run (Humza and Lynch). Charles1

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