'Steadfast and focused': Joshua Williams' journey to his second Super Bowl in young career

How likely are the odds that an HBCU graduate makes it to a Super Bowl and wins one in their NFL career? And making two Super Bowls in consecutive years is extremely rare, not just for an HBCU product. Joshua Williams has defied those odds just two years into his pro career.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback and Fayetteville native Joshua Williams is headed back to the Super Bowl for the second time in his two-year NFL career.

The former Jack Britt and Fayetteville State defensive standout was drafted last season, the first of five HBCU players taken off the board in 2022, in the fourth round at the 135th pick. And immediately, Williams made an impact — most notably in the AFC Championship game against the Bengals where he caught a tip-pick to send the Chiefs to Super Bowl LVII.

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Thrown into the fire

Williams said heading into the NFL after being drafted was one of the biggest growth and adjustment periods he's ever faced coming into training camp. "Training camp was a big deal last year. It honestly felt like half of the season even though it was a month and a half. That's how long training camp was for me," said Williams.

From OTAs to training camp, Williams adjusted to the NFL lifestyle and got a feel for the faster pace game mainly playing special teams, until his number was called after trades and injuries plagued Kansas City's secondary.

In his first couple of starts, Williams excelled mightily, grabbing his first career interception against the San Francisco 49ers, this Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII opponent. And from that point on, Williams found himself in the game rotation each week and was put in the right position to make himself known on the NFL gridiron.

"Last year, it was kind of like surviving to maintain your place on the roster, but this year, when you've already gotten adjusted, it's easier to play relaxed and focus on the playbook," Williams said.

Refining his skill

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"Getting to where I am now gave me the attitude that I can do whatever," Williams said. "I didn't make too many big plays in high school and the position change was kind of just to see what I could go out there and do."

In his senior year at Jack Britt High School, Joshua was switched to cornerback from the wide receiver position by now-UNC Pembroke coach Brian Frierson, where he began to jell into the player that he is today.

The 6-foot-3 defensive back gave everything he had every week and trained at the cornerback position until Fayetteville State took a chance on the 190-pound corner. And remaining at home was the fuel to ignite his engine. "I feel like that chance is what made me who I am today and still becoming, training with Coach Frierson and all of my Fayetteville State coaches wanted to squeeze all of my potential that they could out of me. At first, I was tall, athletic, and fast and refined those skills.”

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The Taylor Swift effect

All season long for the Kansas City Chiefs, the number one topic during their games is superstar singer, Taylor Swift and Joshua's fellow teammate Travis Kelce dating each other since before the season started. But with all of the media frenzy, the Chiefs’ locker room never had the couple as the topic of conversation.

"Amazingly enough it didn't affect us in any way. It didn't affect him (Travis) and his production at all -- we come to work, to work and in our down time we relax and bond, so for us, it was never a discussion," Williams said.

Joshua doesn't feel like anybody should worry too much about another person's significant other because his personal life is his. "It's more of an outsider’s viewpoint," he said.

Message to Fayetteville

Since being put into this position, Williams has repetitively given his thank you's to all of his supporters in the Cumberland County area.

"I always give a real sincere thank you to everyone along the way," he said.

Williams credits the influence of the people around the city like his teachers and coaches and being put into everyday situations to introduce him to the world. "I was just a normal kid in Fayetteville just like the rest of them. I just so happened to be the kid that blew up," Williams said.

Williams is continuing to make history in his young NFL career, being the first Jack Britt alum to become a Super Bowl champion and the seventh Fayetteville native in the NFL win on Super Sunday.

Other Fayetteville Super Bowl champions

• Pine Forest’s Jeff McCall (Oakland, 1984)

• Terry Sanford’s Tim Morrison (Washington, 1988)

• Seventy-First’s Harry Sydney (San Francisco, 1989-90)

• Douglas Byrd’s Brad Edwards (Washington, 1992)

• E.E. Smith’s Russell Davis (New York Giants, 2008)

• Terry Sanford's Dwayne Allen (New England Patriots, 2019)

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville’s Joshua Williams in Super Bowl HBCU Kansas City Chiefs