By Desmond Conner
The Hartford Courant

Eleven rookies with Connecticut ties are on NFL teams. The Courant will check in with each over the next few months. Today: Julius Williams tries to make the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent.

It is early, no doubt, but UConn defensive end Julius Williams, a free agent hoping to make the cut with the Jacksonville Jaguars, is faring well.

“Julius has done a great job of learning the system and is giving himself a chance of making our team,” Jaguars defensive line coach Ted Monachino said. “He is an explosive young player who maximizes his ability each day in practice. We are looking forward to seeing him work in training camp and are confident that his good start will translate well in padded snaps. He is a very mature young man who could make a fine pro if he continues to develop.”

Williams has an idea that he’s doing well. He attributes that to his mind-set of making the most of an opportunity to do something he loves. But making an NFL team is never easy, and that reality hit the 6-foot-2, 260-pound native of Decatur, Ga., last week.

A player he was getting to know was waived. Ohio State’s Nader Abdallah, a defensive tackle and like Williams an undrafted free agent, was there one day, gone the next.

“It definitely bothered me. It was close to home, but I’m using what happened as sort of a new motivation for me,” Williams said after practice from Jacksonville on Wednesday. “I was getting to know the guy, his locker was just down the way. It’s tough, but that’s how it is. That’s the reality of the situation.

“I’ve always had the mind-set that you have to come out and produce more than you did the day before. That’s how I think about it, but now I’ve been taking it up a notch because it can all be taken away from you just like that. You know people are going to get cut, and it could be you. But when it actually happens, it’s like, whoa. … I’m just fueled even more now to play as hard as I can every day.”

Williams, 22, is in camp with former UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen, now playing tight end as an undrafted free agent, and Windsor’s Terrance Knighton, a defensive tackle from Temple who was drafted in the third round.

Williams, who had 11 tackles for losses, including six sacks, last season, is one of the few free agents working out at two positions. In the 4-3 scheme (four down linemen and three linebackers) he plays defensive end. In the 3-4 scheme, he’s getting time at outside linebacker, a position he played some at UConn and in high school.

“It’s not a difficult adjustment for me because I have the linebacker background,” Williams said. “But there a few little things that are different than when I was at UConn, and I want to get better at them.”

Williams is a skilled athlete, but another thing he has going for him is that he learns quickly.

“Well,” Williams said laughing, “they don’t give you a lot of time to learn things. They may give you five or six plays a day and you better know them. It’s your responsibility. And if you mess up … you’re only going to get so many chances.”

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