Cal DL Jayden Williams Came to Berkeley for the Degree, Now Embracing the Brotherhood

The North Texas transfer is a long way from home, open to everything Cal has to offer and buying in fully to what's being built on the defensive line.

Defensive lineman Jayden Williams had options when he entered the portal. What drew him to Berkeley wasn’t just football.

“It’s a prestigious school here and that’s what I signed up for, because it’s really bigger than football. You get a degree from Berkeley, you’re set not just on the football side but on the business side of life. That’s one thing Berkeley separates themselves from the rest of the schools in the country, how serious they take their academics. I’m trying to take it serious myself.”

He’s studying American studies, and he arrived on the West Coast for the first time in his life.

“I’m more of a down south baby. I never been on the West Coast. I’m still trying to get adjusted to all the things that California and Berkeley have to offer. People been very open to me and you can’t ask nothing more than that from a community, from these four walls.”

Having Tosh Lupoi coach his position group directly has carried its own weight.

“Tosh is probably the most enthusiastic coach I’ve ever been a part of. He’s really into my position group. He coached my position for a very long time, had a lot of successful guys in college and in the league. Just for me to eventually be a part of that lineage, that’s a blessing in itself. You’re going to get the same guy every day and you can’t ask for nothing better.”

Williams came to Cal with significant experience but limited starts, and he’s made peace with what that means in a room built on rotation.

“I have a lot of snaps with no starts and that’s perfectly fine. In the D-line room it’s a rotational thing, and that’s what really builds me up to this moment right now.”

His focus this spring has been on something less visible than production: coachability.

“The best quality a defensive lineman could have is being open-minded to their weaknesses. You’re not going to win every rep and with that being said, it’s next play mentality. One thing I try to do different from the past year is just being coachable, being able to listen to my coaches because they’re telling me the right things at all times.”

He says the shift is showing up beyond the field.

“Being open-minded, from the head coach to the janitor, whatever somebody tells me. I think that takes you a very long way, not just on the field but in life as well.”

Two months in, the thing that’s surprised him most is how fast the team has bonded.

“I feel like this is probably the tightest group and we’ve only been together maybe two, going on three months. It feels like we’ve been knowing each other for three years. Me coming out here by myself, it’s real needed to know that I got not just teammates but brothers. It’s truly a blessing.”