JAGUARS CB DARIOUS WILLIAMS
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FIRDAY, MARCH 18, 2022
(On representing his hometown team and if that was something he knew he wanted to do) “Absolutely. As soon as free agency hit and my agent said the Jaguars were coming after me, of course, I had to put a little pause on there to see what other teams were talking about, but I just knew it would be nothing like coming home. I pretty much knew the whole time it was going to be the Jags. Of course, you still want to see just to see and not jump into stuff so quick. I couldn’t wait to come back home.”
(On if his family was excited about him choosing the Jaguars) “I was texting my dad pretty much the whole time and he just kept talking like, ‘The Jags? Are you coming to the Jags?’ I was like, ‘I don’t really know. I don’t really know.’ They were too excited. I think he knew because I kept saying I don’t know. There are way excited, too excited. They were here the whole day having a blast.”
(On coming to Florida with no state income tax and how much that factored in his decision) “You think of the taxes and everything and obviously California taxes versus Florida – no state tax [in Florida]. But that is just part of it. Every place is pretty much going to have taxes unless it is Las Vegas, Tennessee or those types of places. Past the taxes, I just think this is where I wanted to be in general. Obviously not
having over 50 percent of my money taken out is going to be a good thing, too. I look at it as a bonus.”
(On if he is ready for higher media demands as a local product) “I am not ready for it, but I have to embrace it.”
(On if winning a ring makes it easier to come to a situation that is considered a rebuild) “Yes, that is exactly how you try to look at it. Everybody can win. You just have to find the right pieces, pick the right pieces. Coming home … We know the history. We do not even have to talk about that. But that is what you want to do. You want to be the first wave or another wave to start a great thing. I think that is what a lot of the players, especially the free agents who signed here, wanted to do too. I am not really trying to speak for them, but I feel like that is just the vibe. Getting a ring is different because you get to see … I was on two different Super Bowl runs – the 2018 run and this last one. You get to see what it takes to get there and the journey there. Of course that is something I want to bring to the Jags. I want to do what I can to help bring that to the Jags.”
(On how he feels he fits the Jaguars secondary) “I am a pretty easy guy to get along with, so I feel like all of our issues will be communication. If our communication is smooth, I feel like everything is going to be smooth. We have great athletes in that room. You have Shaquill Griffin, you have [Rayshawn] Jenkins, you have the youngin’ in Tyson Campbell. You have talent. There is talent everywhere. Me being experienced, I just want to help these guys. I just want them to help me the same. I am not any bigger than them, so I just want to be there to have their back to go through and help them, too.”
(On how much his journey has shaped him as a player and his approach to the game) “My story was just remain humble and keep going. That is all there is to it. That is how my whole entire journey has been – just keep your head down, keep going and keep trying to be great.”
