The Jets have several positions up for grabs, from tight end to defensive end to several spots in the wide receiver-rotation. But for pure human interest, for a sheer feel-good story, few can match Kevin Williams’ bid to start at free safety. Just 10 months after being comatose with a mysterious respiratory virus, he’s vying with Omar Stoutmire and Scott Frost for the starting job.
“Yeah, I’m more committed, totally committed. I love what I do. (The job) hasn’t been sewn up. They said it’s open, so I just try to go out there and do the things they want me to do,” said Williams, whose work has caught a few eyes.
“We’re pleased with what he’s done. There’s three viable candidates to get the job, (and) he’s definitely making his push,” defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. “Kevin worked extremely hard in the offseason, in minicamps. Kevin’s come back very well. As he’d tell you, he’s got a little different outlook and perspective on things because of what he went through.”
“I think about it every day. To be down where I was at, and be able to come back … it’s real different. It’s been a tough road, a long road. I’m just glad to be back,” Williams said, who suffered through a two-week stay on a respirator, multiple surgeries and severe weight loss. “It was a pain I just can’t explain. I’ve had injuries, (but) it was more pain than I ever could imagine. I knew it was something totally out of control and wrong and I was close to dying, ’cause you shouldn’t have to hurt that bad just to live.
“But I wasn’t gonna give up. I’ve never given up on anything in life, so I wasn’t gonna start then. And I knew God was with me. Sometimes you have to go through some things to get some things. Everybody looked at me funny; I’d lost a lot of weight, I was 40 pounds smaller. The only thing I could say was “Yeah, I lost a lot of weight but I got my life.”
And according to him, became an even better man in the process. He always used to visit children’s hospitals before, but now he can empathize with the patients even more.
“Walking through and seeing kids who just had heart surgery, it really made a difference because I could feel their pain. Some of them have been in the hospital for months; it’s not a nice feeling. Just to know someone’s thinking about you, that makes a person’s day who’s in a position like that.”
