Grant Williams press conference transcript

Jerry Kill opening statement
It's a great day. It's a great day for Southern Illinois to have the opportunity to add soccer and get the quality of person that we are getting. Grant Williams is a young man that graduated from Western Kentucky, then coached there, and then went to Eastern Illinois and presently has been at Evansville. Everywhere he has coached, he has been a part of successful programs and I think we know about Evansville soccer. He's well-known throughout the Midwest as a great recruiter, and I always say you're only as good as your players and he's certainly known for that. His assistant coach, which I can't say a whole lot about right now, is a superstar. You surround yourself with good people, that is another thing that's very good. He interviewed and I wasn't here at the time so I jumped in the car and drove to Evansville. We spent about two hours, visited a little bit and talked about a plan. We have developed a plan already and have taken a look at what we are going to do. It was a great two hours and I knew when I left Evansville that we had our soccer coach. Sometimes you have to get 1-on-1, if I have a gift and there's not many, it's that I know people, I can read people and I can recruit good people. I have a good background in that. With that, I shouldn't be doing the talking, I'm going to introduce our first soccer coach that I know is going to do a great job. How many people have an opportunity to build a program from scratch? I'm really looking forward to working with him, your new head women's soccer coach, Grant Williams.

Coach Grant Williams opening statement
I don't know that I've been called a young man in quite some time so Coach I appreciate that. I also think it's fitting that Coach Kill gets to bring real futbol to Carbondale given where his background is. (Kill: Not a good start! *laughter*)

I couldn't be happier to be here. The excitement has built from the first moment I came to campus to interview. Anybody I talked to about Saluki Athletics and the opportunity here was persuasive in conversations. As a coach, you start to look at the black and white metrics of the job. Is it a good fit? And then when you go to a place, can you see yourself there and can you be successful with the people who are around you? And that is what tipped it past for me about could this be a successful endeavor. Could I put myself in a position to lay roots down and make a program successful.

And then the other parts of it as far as the opportunity to build a program from day one is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something that I'm fully aware of. Obviously, the faith of Chancellor Montemagno and Jerry (Kill) and anyone who had an opportunity to sit down with me in the interview process, I think that I was able to convey a sincere and honest approach to the way that I see the game, how to build a team and what you need to be successful at the very basic level, and I'm glad that I was able to find the support here for what we're going to do on day one. There's already infrastructure in place to make a truly remarkable student-athlete experience from an academic standpoint. And then the commitment that the University is showing to add women's soccer and give us the opportunity to make noise in the Valley has just continued to reaffirm that this was the right decision for me and my family and we couldn't be happier about the opportunity to come here.

As an assistant coach you obviously see yourself as a head coach and wonder what it's going to look like when that day comes - I don't know that I could have written a better script for what Saluki Athletics and being in Carbondale - from a location standpoint to natural recruiting opportunities - to the infrastructure that the school has in place academically and athletically, and just where is my comfort zone - where will I have the opportunity to take the strengths that I bring to the game as a coach and implement them in a way that will allow our student-athletes to be successful. Without a doubt, I could not of written a better opportunity for myself.

You don't get here by yourself. It certainly has been a long journey and I've caught some breaks along the way. Obviously, the support of my athletic director at Evansville, Mark Spencer, and my head coach, Krista McKendree, and their support and recognizing what a good opportunity this is and putting me in front of decision-makers. Jason Neidell at Western Kentucky gave me my first opportunity. My best teammate, my wife, we've been married for almost 19 years. When we first met - I had long hair and I rode a motorcycle exclusively and she didn't necessarily feel like I was a very responsible person. I don't know when we started our journey together that this is where she would envision me, and at that time that I did either, but I could not be more happy for what this opportunity means for me and my family and for what this opportunity means for the University and Saluki Athletics. I can't wait to hit the ground running. Thank you very much.

Question and Answer with local media

With your experience with working at Evansville and your knowledge of the Valley, did that affect your decision?

Williams: My knowledge of just the geography — where do we train, where do we stay, what's the surface like, I thought would be invaluable to a young team as they are trying to find their way in the league. My knowledge of what the level of the league is and what the strengths and weaknesses of those programs are, I thought would be a natural fit for me as a I pursued this opportunity.

Kill: I think when you hire somebody, you have to think where you fit. I think Coach said it best, and when I look at people and the background he has, he's a perfect fit. For instance, I went to Rutgers, that wasn't a perfect fit. I'm a midwest guy and you get away from your recruiting ties. I learned that from Bruce Weber when he was here. Being in the region and knowing the conference, being successful in the conference meant a lot in this hire. More importantly, we recruited a good person. That's more important to me than anything.

How difficult will it be to build a program in the Valley in just two years?

Williams: Even from my friends, that's probably the question I get most often. It's certainly going to be a challenge, particularly with the accelerated rate in women's soccer at which the recruiting cycle goes, but I think I'm in a really good position for a couple of reasons. Primarily, name recognition, all the coaches that I'm going to be contacting, most of them I've had 10-plus years, so there's not going to be a lot of unknown about the experience of players they're potentially going to be sending to Southern Illinois. We're also going to be in a really good position from a recruiting standpoint, there's already a lot of programs that have moved on from their 2019 class, they've already expended all the budget they have athletically for scholarships, so I think we'll really be in the driver's seat for kids who either fall out of the process, committed to a program where the coach has left, for whatever reason they find themselves in a position where they're still looking, I just feel like we're going to be in a really strong position when kids are trying to find the best fit for them. Not that the financial piece is going to be the primary mover, but anyone who is involved in Division I athletics knows, particularly on the soccer side, that's always a question that comes up when you sit down with mom and dad, you pay for college. Certainly not going to be an issue of numbers. I could put a sign-up sheet on the outside of the arena today and I think we'd probably have 50 kids want to come play here. The question is how can I see kids who are going to be potential difference-makers from day one when they get here?

Can you talk about the infrastructure and the bones of the program?

Williams: The proximity of everything, when you look at where are you going to play, where are you going to practice, for us that will be primarily one and the same. Locker rooms within walking distance is on campus. All of those logistical things make it a no-brainer in that regard. That was a real easy one as you started to just walk around campus and what's the student-athlete experience going to be like? For a women's soccer player here at Southern, it's going to be a very good one.

Jerry, are you able to tell us how the locker room project is coming along and the status of the infrastructure of the program?

Kill: I've been here 10 days and I've got it built already (laughing). You talk to Coach about two years from now. I was fortunate to be the associate AD at Kansas State when they implemented soccer, so I have a pretty good idea. Things don't happen in two years, it's going to take a little bit of time to get the type of player and some of the things we're doing. Now, if he does that, I'll talk to Chancellor and we'll give him a raise and keep him here if he can do that thing in two years, but that's not easy. Second half of that question, I'll be honest with you and I was honest with Coach, there wasn't a plan. We had to create a plan and we've done it in five days. We've got a good plan where we're at now and a good plan where we're going. That plan is getting pushed. If anybody knows me, I've worn the carpet out down to see Mark (Scally), I've been over to the Chancellor's area and I've pushed the carpet over there. We know we need to move as fast as we can. We don't want to do anything half-way. We're going to do everything we do here the best and the best of what we have to work with. We're moving along. I've been over to Mr. (Brad) Dillard and got plans and we'll move as fast as we can, but in the meantime, I think Coach feels pretty good about the setup we have and to go to work quickly for recruiting.

How would you describe your style?

Williams: Possession oriented — a 4-4-3 is probably the system I've had the most experience and success playing, but obviously, players, opponents, those kind of things dictate that, but just recognizing that, in particular, being in proximity to St. Louis and the kinds of different players that St. Louis produces, those are possession-type players. Obviously, if I can have the ball and the other team doesn't, that it makes it difficult to get beat. Possession-oriented for sure. The second part of that when you're looking at different playing surfaces, turf does not lend itself very well for a direct game, the ball is out of bounds more often than no
What would you say is your recruiting priority?

For me, it's got to be a kid who identifies with Souther Illinois and wants to be part of a historic opportunity. There will be good enough soccer players and good enough athletes, the things that you ask of a student-athlete, the demands on their time, effort, energy, blood, sweat and tears, you've got to find the kid who really identifies with your school and takes pride in the color they wear and the name that's on the front of their shirt and not necessarily what's on the back. That's what's going to make a difference for us here.

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Grant Williams press conference transcript

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