Kevin Williams is ready, willing and able to become the Jets’ top pick in the first round of Saturday’s NFL Draft.
But the 6-foot-5, 304-pound Oklahoma State defensive tackle knows his adjustment won’t only be about learning the NFL game. It, too, will be about adjusting to life outside of his microscopic hometown of Princeton, Ark.
Asked yesterday what the population of Princeton is, Williams said by phone, “One hundred … if that.”
Williams said there’s one store in town to buy groceries and you have to drive about an hour to go to see a movie.
In his next breath, the thought about coming to New York, where the Jets are in need of defensive-line depth, particularly strong run-stopping tackles, Williams said, “It’s going to be a big jump.
“It wouldn’t be a problem, though,” added Williams, who was one of the select 20 or so who visited the Jets at Weeb Ewbank Hall after the NFL scouting combine. “They have a nice team. They’ve been to the playoffs the last two years. It’ll be a nice place to fit in.”
The Jets are seeking a good fit on the interior defensive line, where starters Jason Ferguson and Josh Evans can use someone to spell them.
After the two starters, the Jets have only James Reed on the roster with any NFL experience. Alan Harper, a draft pick last year, has been a project and hasn’t yet played.
“There are going to be probably anywhere from four and five, maybe six or seven, defensive linemen who go in the first round, whether it be ends or tackles,” Jets GM Terry Bradway said.
A handful of those players will be out of the Jets’ reach when they pick at No. 13 in the first round. Penn State DT Jimmy Kennedy and Kentucky DT DeWayne Robertson, the two highest-rated DTs, figure to be gone.
That would leave available to the Jets Williams (unless he’s scooped up by the Seahawks at No. 11 or by the Patriots in a trade-up to get him) and Georgia DT Johnathan Sullivan, a 6-foot-3, 313-pounder who’s a relentless grinder in the middle.
“Big guys that are athletic are hard to find; they usually get taken pretty quickly,” Bradway said.
Translation: Look for the Jets to address defensive tackle early.
That would be fine with Williams, described by his stepmother, Blanchie, as “very quiet, very intelligent and respectful … who’s always had his head on straight and has never been in any trouble. He’s always been someone you can count on.”
Williams, who completed all of his studies and will graduate from Oklahoma State on May 10, is so low-key, his stepmother said there are family friends who wonder if he’s even excited about the draft.
“I might end up getting nervous on draft day, but right now I’m OK,” Williams said. “I’ll probably be a little jumpy listening to every word they say [on TV] when they start calling out names. I am anxious to know where I’m going to be for the next three or four years of my life.”
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The Jets will hold three draft-day parties for their fans from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, one at Jillian’s in Farmingdale on Long Island, one at the ESPN Zone in Times Square, and one at Poor Billy’s in North Woodbridge, N.J. Jets players are expected to make appearances at all three locations, where fans will get free T-shirts.


