March 27, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State head football coach Denver Johnson solidified his staff on Tuesday with the hiring of Jafar Williams as the Redbirds' wide receivers coach.
For the last two seasons, Williams was the wide receiver coach at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. He also served as the minority recruiting coordinator for all of the Greyhounds' athletic teams. In 2005, Moravian claimed the first Eastern College Athletic Conference championship in school history.
"We are really excited about adding Jafar to our staff," Johnson said. "He comes highly recommended by some coaches I know and put a lot of stock in their recommendation. He was a tremendous player at Maryland and has done a fantastic job at Moravian as a coach. Having served as a minority recruiter, he has some accelerated experience at recruiting. He is an impressive guy who I think will do a nice job developing our young, but talented, receiving corps."
Williams is also looking forward to joining the staff at ISU.
"Everything I have heard about the Illinois State football staff, the athletics department and the institution has been nothing but positive," Williams said. "I have also heard nothing but great things about Coach Johnson and what it's like to work for him. I'm looking forward to coach the receivers and will do my part to help bring a championship to Illinois State."
Before joining the coaching ranks, Williams was a standout receiver at Maryland and lettered from 2000-03. He currently ranks No. 13 all-time in Maryland history for career receptions (90) and career receiving yards (1,301). Williams finished his Terrapin career with a pair of touchdowns in Maryland's 41-7 win over West Virginia in the 2004 Gator Bowl.
After his collegiate career, Williams spent one season on the Washington Redskins' practice squad, before beginning his two-year coaching stint at Moravian College.
A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Williams received a bachelor's of science degree in health and human performance from Maryland in 2003.
