San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
‘Scrappy’ Williams, Beckett anchor defense
Tavante Beckett spent only a couple weeks at Major League Football workouts in Alabama two years ago, but the stint was long enough for one of his new teammates to catch his eye.
Jordan Williams was another undersized, energetic threedown linebacker, showing off many of the same traits that Beckett takes pride in, and the two quickly formed a bond.
“We both play similar. We’re little scrappy players,” Beckett said. “We know we’re going to bring it, even though we might not be typical linebacker size.”
When Major League Football never materialized, both players shifted to the XFL. The 6-foot Williams became the league’s leading tackler, making 89 stops for San Antonio, while Beckett, listed at 5-foot-11, ranked second, notching 63 tackles for Houston.
Now, the duo is united again as part of the San Antonio club in the UFL, anchoring the Brahmas defense from the interior linebacker positions as the team holds training camp this month.
Watching the pair of lively, dynamic standouts in the middle of the field, defensive coordinator Will Reed said he was reminded of the mischievous little creatures from the movie “Gremlins.”
“They feed off of each other,” Reed said. “Their energy, they’re always upbeat and going, flying around, wanting to compete,
having a great time, doing their job. I love watching it.”
Williams is surrounded by a handful of former teammates from last year’s Brahmas roster, helping him reprise his role as a leader.
Many of San Antonio’s newcomers followed coach Wade Phillips from the 2023 Houston Roughnecks, with Beckett at the forefront.
The Brahmas’ defense is not expected to be a carbon copy of last year’s Roughnecks system, as Reed meshes his ideas with the system that made Phillips one of the NFL’s standout defensive minds for more than 30 years.
But Beckett’s familiarity with the playbook is enough to give him an early leg up, and he’s worked to pass his knowledge on
to Williams.
“They’re very similar players in that they can find the ball, they both run really well and they’re both really active,” Phillips said. “They’re all over the field. Plus, they can cover. They give us a presence where they can cover a back or a tight end if we need them to.”
Williams said punching the ball loose or hunting interceptions is his main goal in 2024, understanding that “turnovers get you paid” with a spot in the NFL.
That emphasis should mesh well with the Brahmas’ defense, as Phillips and Reed both pointed to takeaways as the unit’s top priority.
With the UFL’s kickoff and punting rules designed to facilitate returns, Reed believes offenses are at a built-in advantage, putting the onus on the defense to “create some turnovers and some good luck for ourselves.”
“That’s part of our teaching process, is turnovers win games,” Phillips said. “They don’t just happen. You have to teach how to get them, where to be. Pass or run, how to get the football out.”
Asked to identify standouts from the Brahmas’ first week of practice, Phillips pointed to Williams before any other player. Reed, too, said he was struck by Williams’ professional approach to studying practice film and learning the playbook.
Williams said he left the team hotel following the end of the 2023 Brahmas season with a tear in his eye, reflecting on his journey. Out of more than 500 players selected across multiple drafting phases for the league, Williams was the second-to-last name off the board. After talking about a possible move to safety during training camp, Williams remained rooted at linebacker and went on to become an All-XFL selection.
“I still think of myself as the same guy who came in last year that nobody knew, nobody expected anything from,” Williams said. “We’re just going to come out and ball.”
A Baylor product who went unselected in the 2020 NFL Draft, Williams had training camp or workout opportunities with Carolina and Cleveland after his XFL showcase, but nothing that stuck.
Returning for another season in spring football, Williams is focused on adding size to hold up better against blocks, opening training camp at 225 lbs. after playing at 215 last season.
“After last year, I could get complacent and be like, ‘Oh yeah, leading tackler,’ ” Williams said. “Nah, that was last year. That’s done. It’s not even the same name of the league anymore. I just want to look at it like I’m a fresh player coming in and trying to make it happen.”
Beckett was also undrafted out of Marshall in 2021 but signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions. Though he was waived during final cuts, he joined the team’s practice squad and was eventually promoted to the active roster, appearing in four games late in the season.
While his standout play in Houston did not result in any NFL calls for tryouts last season, Beckett said he knew he wanted to continue playing for Phillips as long as the opportunity was available.
The Roughnecks finished atop the XFL’s South Division at 7-3 but lost to eventual league champion Arlington in the divisional finals.
“Of course I want to win player of the year, but most importantly, I want to win a championship,” Beckett said. “That’s the goal, and we fell one game short of that. So being that close, I just want to go get it.”