Jets rookie DL Quinnen Williams used YouTube to prep for season
Florham Park, N.J. — Quinnen Williams passed on paying for a bigname, high-priced personal trainer during his first NFL offseason.
The New York Jets rookie defensive lineman simply pressed play on his laptop at home.
"I just worked out on my own — I can YouTube everything," Williams said with a big, braces-filled smile Friday. "I don't really have to go pay a superstar super-performance dude. I can use YouTube and just do it. On the field, you can't take a performance coach with you, so I used YouTube a lot and did a lot of stuff that we do here over and over."
Apparently, the video binging worked.
The No. 3 overall draft pick arrived in terrific shape at the team's facility Friday morning to sign his rookie contract, officially ending his one-practice holdout.
"It was a huge relief, man, just to be back with my brothers," Williams said. "Be back with the team, be back in New York and New Jersey. It's just amazing."
Then, he went out and "crushed" his conditioning test, coach Adam Gase raved.
"I'm just ready to perform," Williams said. "I feel way better than I was in college; I feel way stronger, way faster and way more flexible."
The former Alabama star worked out at his alma mater and Georgia Tech during the offseason, spending 18 hours a day between the gym, saunas, hot tubs, cold tubs and massage tables to get himself in perhaps the best shape of his life.
With the help of the internet, of course.
He dropped his playing weight of 305 pounds from last year with the Crimson Tide to about 295. Williams' body fat is also down from 20% to 15% after tweaking his diet — with assistance from the Jets' nutritionist — by eating more vegan plant-based proteins.
"I did a lot of conditioning and ran track a lot," Williams said. "I saw (Eagles wide receiver) DeSean Jackson running track all the time, so I got me some track cleats to start running track. It got me in great shape."
Now, Williams is eager to get on the field and start practicing.
That will happen Saturday, the team's first session in pads, after Gase and the Jets decided to not rush Williams into the mix after a hectic 24-hour stretch for the youngster. Williams agreed to terms Thursday on his four-year, $32.5 million deal that includes a $21.7 million signing bonus, flew to New Jersey later that night and put his pen to paper early Friday morning.
"We just thought it was the right move, just pulling him out of practice and not put him in a bad situation," Gase said.
Surprisingly, there was only a bit of razzing by Williams' teammates when he showed up at practice, unlike the welcome Sam Darnold received as he was slow-clapped onto the field last summer after he ended his three-practice holdout.
"I just heard, 'Big Money,' a lot," Williams said with a laugh. "All the guys here know I'm not a real big spender. They know I'm a kid, almost. I'm really a goofy, laid-back, cool person, so there really hasn't been a lot said about it."
But once the whistle blew, Williams did all he could to control himself from running out on the field during the two-hour session.
"I was just fidgeting on the sideline, like, 'Man, I know this play. I know what to do on D-line,'" he said, smiling. "I was just really taking mental reps on the sideline."