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Running backs coach Jafar Williams ly because his team was overmatched nearly every week by bigger schools in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference. So Etling was pressured often and consistently took hits, but that just built his toughness. He fractured ribs in one game but came back the next week, and he never sat despite a high ankle sprain, an injury that usually knocks players out for a month. And he kept standing tall in the pocket through it all. "Danny is a big, durable guy, thick wrists, thick ankles, thick neck," Shoop said. "He's the prototypical passer who has a bright future. "Danny can spin it, and he doesn't need room to throw it. This son of gun, you could be rushing him … He's the Jafar Williams' biggest strength as a coach may be how easily he can relate to players. And it's not just because he's one of the youngest coaches on Darrell Hazell's staff. The soon-to-be 33-year-old Williams has been able to relay experiences he had in college: Trying to handle his role as a player while his mother was sick, learning how to manage his time well enough to adapt to academic responsibilities, bumping heads with a position coach and even questioning his motivations to play because of some physical restrictions athletically. They're all issues young men can have, and Williams prides himself on being straight forward with his group, both in helping them address concerns off-the-field and evaluating their performances on it. "I think they look at me and see me as someone who is honest. I'm real," Williams said. "I'm not going to do things just because the other coaches do things. I'm not going to say things just because someone else says it. Everything I do is who I am as a person and as a coach. I care about them. I want to build relationships with them. I always said I feel like a relationship with your players is something that's a lost part of our profession." Players appreciate the approach. "He's the best coach I've ever had as a running back coach because when it's time for business, he's really strict on that," junior running back Akeem Hunt said. "There's no talking in the meeting room. It's all strictly business. Then we'll have our moments where we joke around, but it's really about life." Williams will work on relationships while also continuing to learn to coach running backs. He was Ziccarelli Builders, Inc. a receiver at Maryland and coached that position for Construction Planners and Contractors three years at Howard and Illinois State until Hazell brought him to Kent State in 2011 and ordered him Commercial & Industrial General Contractor to coach running backs. Last season at Kent, the WilLEED Certified Projects liams-led running game had nearly 3,200 yards and 36 touchdowns on the ground. Augie Ziccarelli, CEM 1981 — Stacy Clardie One Overlook Point, Lincolnshire, IL 60069 zicbuilders.com 18 • Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 Phone: 847.913.1000 GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com