Williams on Pitt: 'I could light it up there'
Raphael Williams saw a lot that he liked on his visit to Pitt this week, but the wide receiver transfer from San Diego State picked the Panthers as his next team because of another offseason addition Pat Narduzzi made in the South Side.
“It’s a perfect situation, honestly,” Williams told Panther-Lair.com. “It’s a great program and they have everything connected with the Steelers.
“Really, I committed because of the offensive mind of Kade Bell. He’s an offensive guru in my opinion and I think we can light the scoreboard up with his offense and what I can do.”
Of course, Bell is no stranger to Williams. Bell was the offensive coordinator at Western Carolina when Williams was on the Catamounts’ roster in 2021 and 2022, and he produced at a high level in Bell’s offense.
Over the course of two seasons, Bell caught 120 passes for 1,617 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection in 2021 and was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year by Phil Steele.
With that kind of production in their shared history, Williams was excited to reconvene with Bell - who he also played for at Tusculum in 2020 - during his visit this week.
“We talked about some things on the offensive end and we talked about some life things and just how far we came.
“I mean, look at the story: I went from D2 to FCS to Group of Five to Power Five. And he took the same path. It’s almost a movie, really, because we both had to work our way up.”
Williams, 5’10” 167, left Western Carolina after the 2022 season and transferred to San Diego State, but because it was his second transfer, he was ineligible to play in 2023. Now he’s coming to Pitt with two years of eligibility and a fair amount of experience.
“Coach (Tiquan) Underwood said he likes my knowledge,” Williams said. “I think I run the best routes in the nation, in my opinion, so I’m really just going to be helping the other guy.s I’m very knowledgable; I don’t think people realize that. I know how to read defenses and I’ll be bringing that energy - I bring a lot of energy to the room.”
Williams visited Pitt during the week and announced his commitment on Friday.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a day or two, and I just know that this is going to be home,” he said. “I was watching the Steelers and I knew I could light it up there.”
Williams is the third former Western Carolina skill player to transfer to Pitt this offseason, joining running back Desmond Reid and receiver Censere Lee, who were the Catamounts’ top playmakers this past season. Reid and Lee committed to Pitt after Bell was hired in December.