Waiting for his moment: New Jaguar Darious Williams working toward making hometown start

Darious Williams is waiting for his moment.

The moment where he emerges from the tunnel of TIAA Bank Field and onto the grassy field in front of a crowd of cheering fans.

Fans including family and friends of the Jacksonville-area native. Family and friends that’ll be able to watch the 28-year-old cornerback play in Jacksonville as a member of the Jaguars for the first time in his professional career.

The moment likely won’t come this week when the Jaguars open home competition for the 2022 season against the Cleveland Browns on Friday.

Williams is still recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery that’s kept him out of full-speed action since the start of training camp.

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When asked about it Monday, defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell didn’t give a date for the nickel cornerback to be ready to fully play.

“That timetable is still up in the air. He's progressing good,” Caldwell said. “You see him out here moving around, having the pads around. When the medical staff says he's ready to go, he's ready to go.”

As you scan the defensive unit of the Jaguars during training camp, one player stands out from the rest.

Williams wears a red scrimmage penny over his practice jersey, indicating he’s a non-contact participant of practice. During team drills he gets minimal reps — he had to convince coaches to let him get a single rep during the first week of camp.

Still, he’s one of the more active defensive players despite his limited participation. He’s often rushing over to the first-team defense when they come off the field to show support to his teammates.

And he’s one of the most consistent users of the jugs machine before practice. He uses it to catch low-angled passes as if he’s scooping an interception just before it hits the turf. In between each pass he alters his position from left to right to simulate breaking towards the pass from different areas.

When he isn’t participating in team drills, he stands on the sidelines near cornerback coaches Deshea Townsend and Tee Mitchell, talking to them about coverages and other topics. When Williams is in, you can see him slowly inching back to a high-level player.

He had a handful of one-on-one reps against Jaguars receivers on Monday. On the first attempt it looked like a miscommunication made him stop mid drill. The other, an interception for Williams, who bolted in front of the receiver and held on to the ball as it thumped into his chest.

His increased participation is a good sign as the third week of training camp rolls on. He is available for all individual and position drills. And he even had a heavy dose of action during 7-on-7 competition against the offense in the last few practices.

“I feel good, I’m just trying to get back in a competitive game,” he said. “Obviously, I haven’t been doing too much but I’m just trying to get back into a rhythm. Knock off some rust. That way I’ll be ready for the season.”

Williams spent the last four seasons with the Rams and was a member of their 2021 championship team. He saw some of his best playing days with the champs, recording a career-high four interceptions in 2020 and a career-high 71 tackles in 2021.

He started 26 of his 42 games in a Rams uniform and was a building block of the secondary in Los Angeles. Now, he hopes to bring the same energy and drive to Jacksonville.

“My expectation is to get this team rolling,” he said. “To get everybody to buy in. Especially our secondary, we want to have the best secondary in the league. We have the players to do it. Just all be on one page, all be in sync together. Come out and have the best secondary.”

As camp continues, Williams will hope to see his playing time increase. The starting nickel spot is occupied by Tre Herndon currently who’s having a strong showing through the early part of the preseason. The two have split a few reps with first team, but until Williams can be full go, Herndon will start.

And when Williams does come back, Herndon’s play may warrant a camp battle for the nickel position. In the meantime, Williams is still waiting.

Waiting for his moment in front of his friends, family and hometown fans.

“That’s for sure why I’m trying to push the coaches to escalate the practices,” Williams said on if he’s thought about the first time he’ll play at home. “For that moment right there. I’m just getting ready and prepared to play in the Jaguars’ stadium.”

Juston Lewis is a sports reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars CB Darious Williams working toward first hometown start