Illinois State head football coach Denver Johnson finalized his offensive staff with the hiring of assistant coach Jim Williams, Wednesday.
After spending the last seven seasons as a running backs coach, Williams will focus his attention to the Redbird backfield for the 2004 season. In the last three campaigns, Williams served as an assistant coach at Nebraska-Omaha, while working as the offensive coordinator during the 2003 season.
Williams is looking forward to joining Johnsons staff.
Im extremely excited about joining the Redbird football staff, Williams said. I hope to bring some enthusiasm and some base knowledge of the offense that coach Johnson has in place, which is similar to what we ran at UNO. Illinois State has had a lot of success with its running game and I hope to add to that tradition and string of success.
With Nebraska-Omaha, Williams coached the Division II leading rusher Justin Kammrad, who finished third for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Williams Maverick offense ranked No. 6 nationally in rushing with 240.6 yards per game and No. 13 in total offense with 453.0 yards per contest. Including a playoff game in 2001, Williams mentored three 1,000-yard rushers in his three seasons at UNO.
Johnson, who has had a 1,000-yard rusher in all seven of his seasons as a head coach, also knows the importance of the running game and is pleased with the addition of Williams guidance at the position.
Were excited to have Jim join our staff, said Johnson. He brings a solid background in both coaching and recruiting that is going to be a valuable asset to our program. I think hes going to fit in well with the make-up of our staff and we just look forward to getting him on campus to get him acclimated to our offensive schemes and system.
Prior to his three-year stint at Nebraska-Omaha, Williams worked a season as the running backs coach at Western State. In the spring prior to leaving Western State, Williams also served as the co-offensive coordinator. He entered the college coaching ranks in 1998 as the offensive coordinator at Independence Community College. During his two-year tenure, Williams also instructed the quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends and receivers.
The Altoona, Kan., native holds a bachelors degree in business administration from New Mexico State in 1999, where he lettered two seasons, and a bachelor of science degree in secondary education from Southern Colorado in 1994. Williams earned his masters degree in business administration from Canyon College in 2001.
Williams and his wife, Kristi, have three daughters, Madison (6), Samantha (2) and Megan (5 months).
With the hiring of a running backs coach, Johnson also commented about the offensive coordinator position.
Im personally going to get more involved with our offense during spring practice, Johnson added. I will determine the status of the offensive coordinator title before the start of the season.
