Jamaal Williams ran for a team-high 54 yards on nine carries in his Detroit Lions debut last week. The colorful running back stopped to answer five questions for the Free Press this week before he faces his old team, the Green Bay Packers, for the first time Monday night.
You played four seasons in Green Bay. What’s your fondest memory of your time there?
My favorite memory? Probably, I think it was my rookie year and we played the Bucs and I was having a very good game. I was having like a real good game — I had a good game; a real great game, honestly. (Williams ran for a career-high 113 yards in the game). And then honestly, it came to the end of the game and my boy, Aaron (Rodgers), finished it off with a run-off touchdown. So I’ll always remember that.
“I think my rookie year again, I’ll always remember playing the Steelers. I got two touchdowns in that one. We lost, but that’ll always be in my head. Just, I was getting loose. And then the Browns, when we played the Browns. We had to go there. I had two touchdowns there. I had a receiving and a rushing one, so I have a lot of favorite memories and just having fun and really it was a great time.”
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I know you’re into anime, so if you were a character in your own anime, what would you be like?
Me? I’d most definitely be a villain. I could be a bad good guy. Like I have morals, but I’m still a bad person. I’d just be a villain, honestly. They just have so much fun. They don’t care. I just love — one of my favorite villains is Dio. He’s from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and even in the first series, he’s like a vampire somewhat – I don’t think I want to tell the story but I’m going to.
“He basically had a whole bunch of vampires with him. Like he basically turned people into vampires and they were just in his house, his minions. And he had this lady and a baby. And the lady was crying like, ‘Please don’t — please, what all you do, just don’t kill my baby. Don’t kill my baby.’ He was like, ‘I won’t kill your baby.’ Then he turned the momma into a vampire and made her kill her own baby. I was dying. I was laughing hysterically. Only for the villain part.”
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Who is the best running back in NFL history and why?
Best running back? NFL history. Ooh. I would still go with Walter Payton. He’s still one of my favorites. Like I’ve been a Rams fan my whole life, so I’ve always liked all the Rams running backs. Marshall Faulk, Eric Dickerson, Steven Jackson. Todd Gurley when he was there, too. But still, it’s still Walter Payton. I just liked his offseason workouts and how he handled himself, getting himself ready for the season.
You have a Monday night game this week, some extra time to kill before the game. How do you spend your day on a Monday night game?
Mostly just playing a game a little bit or I’ll watch a little anime, get myself motivated for the day. Thinking about assassinating people. Silent assassination. But you know, can’t do all that yet. That’s why I watch my animes.”
Freep: You can assassinate them on the field.
Williams: “Yeah, basically. I take my warrior instincts onto the field. That’s war for me, my whole battle.”
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What do you do to take care of your mental health?
Ooh. My mental health? Well, sometimes it really just – I’m always really by myself a lot, and so sometimes I think I just have to talk to – my friends know me, they know I’m probably the worst friend ever. Just cause I’m not good at texting, I’m not good at calling. Like, I’ll start talking to my friends and then I’ll stop.
“(So) by talking to them. Basically just, if I’m having problems or anything, sometimes I be feeling like I’m the only person to go through them. But sometimes I just got to get out of my shell and know my friends and my family who care for me, that some of them have been in that situation before, if I’m having problems with it. And so, I don’t know, I feel better once I talk to my friends and family who’s been in those type of situations. They can help me out.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.