Receiver DeShaun Williams bowled over Naperville Central's opponents with blocks. At Toledo, bowl games await.

Chicago Tribune

08-08-2025

Wide receiver DeShaun Williams' first contact with Toledo's coaches came before he transferred from St. Francis to Naperville Central for his senior year.
'I first started talking to them in my junior year,' he said. 'But that drifted away.'
The talks resumed last fall as Williams excelled for the Redhawks as both a receiver and a running back.
'Their special teams coach, Stan Weber, was in a year ago recruiting Jake Stanish,' Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich said. 'He noticed DeShaun as well.'
Williams had already committed to Indiana State. But things changed in February.
'The receivers coach at Indiana State left, and then they changed offensive coordinators,' he said. 'A lot of the coaches that I had talked to either quit or got fired, so I decommitted.'
That's when Weber pounced.
'They heard I decommitted, and coach Weber said he suggested me to the coaches, and that's when they started contacting me,' Williams said. 'Toledo offered me a position on their roster, and I took it.'
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Williams, who had 55 catches for 636 yards and nine touchdowns to help the Redhawks reach the Class 8A state semifinals, is joining a program that has played in 12 bowl games since 2010. The Rockets (8-5), who haven't had a losing season in head coach Jason Candle's nine-year tenure, beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a six-overtime thriller in the GameAbove Sports Bowl last season.
'Coach Candle is a really good coach,' Ulreich said. 'I got to meet him a few times when he's been in our building. It's just kind of an impressive operation.'
One in which Williams thinks he will thrive.
'Seeing the NFL talent they always produce really excited me,' Williams said. 'My receivers coach has coached at Power Five schools and coached NFL talent that is still in the league today, so that was a major thing.'
Indeed, Toledo receivers coach RJ Fleming has had seven players who have reached the NFL. That's a goal for Williams, of course, who is relishing his first training camp.
'At first it was a real adjustment,' Williams said. 'It's like a six- to seven-hour day, but it's really fun.
'You get to learn a lot about football, and my coaches so far have told me a lot of good things. They've told me I've learned the playbook pretty fast, I'm fast and physical at the top of my routes. A lot of nights you've got to study the playbook like it's a test.'
Even if Williams passes every test, he probably won't see any action as a freshman. The Rockets have a large receiver room, led by four returning senior starters.
'So long as I keep working and learning the playbook and really continue to grow with the team, I feel like I could see some time sophomore year maybe,' Williams said.
That patience will serve Williams well, according to Ulreich, who witnessed those traits last season. The Redhawks started slowly offensively as quarterback Sebastian Hayes, who was coming back from two torn ACLs, learned the offense.
'The most impressive thing about DeShaun was just what a great team player he was,' Ulreich said. 'We didn't throw the ball a ton the first couple weeks. DeShaun never said a word about it. All he did was block like crazy.
'The first weeks of the season he had some really impressive, physical blocks, and as the season went on those two started to get into a rhythm.'
Indeed, Williams caught two long touchdown passes from Hayes during the Redhawks' 24-7 win over Lyons in the state quarterfinals. That turned out to be the final win of Williams' final high school season.
'It was so memorable,' he said. 'From the summer with the morning workouts, it was all so special.
'Coach Ulreich really does a good job teaching you the game and really the understanding of football. His plays were a lot like college plays formation-wise and really scheme-wise. He coaches you like you're a college athlete, and he does so much to prepare you for the next level.'
Williams, in turn, helped prepare his younger teammates.
'He proved what type of team player he was by what he did when he didn't have the football,' Ulreich said. 'He made some pretty vicious blocks on the perimeter, so he earned a lot of people's respect doing those things.
'By the end of the year, we had some young guys with us. It was kind of fun watching him mentor those guys as well. He was a great guy to have around and a really great teammate.'