If you’re an NFL wide receiver looking to improve during your time off, where do you go? For Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Kenny Bell, there was only one way to answer that. You go back to Lincoln, Neb., to train with Huskers’ receivers coach Keith Williams.
That’s not to say this was Bell’s plan all along. He didn’t think he’d be returning to his collegiate hometown quite so soon. Williams changed that all with one text message.
“He shot me a text two weeks ago that said, ‘KB. We’re going to be getting work in this next week. Do you want to come?”’ Bell said. “I had known all about Coach Dub before I had gotten the chance to work with him and I said, ‘Absolutely, there is no question. I’ll be there.’ I asked when he wanted to start and he said Wednesday. I said, ‘I’ll be there Tuesday night.’”
Fans know Bell as the most productive receiver in Husker history. Sitting at the top of Nebraska’s career charts in receptions and receiving yards, it’s hard to imagine Bell has too many things he needs to improve upon. That’s where Williams comes in.
“Within the first 30 minutes of working with him, he identified every single thing I struggled with throughout my entire career,” Bell said. “Thirty minutes after that, we were fixing them.”
Williams, known as ‘Coach Dub’ by Bell, quickly earned the respect and appreciation of the Husker alum. His passion and knowledge for the game really stood out and the fact that Williams shares that passion and wisdom freely was even better.
“He’ll let you know when it’s bad,” Bell said. “If you do it bad, he’s going to let you know that it’s bad. If you do it right, he’s going to love you up and he’s going to let you know that you did it right.
“The best part about that is when he lets you know that you did it wrong, he’ll come back and tell you exactly what you did wrong. There’s no, ‘That was really bad,’ and you jump to the back of the line and do it again. He corrects the mistakes that are made.”
And mistakes do happen. Bell knows that, which is why it’s important to him to find a coach that knows and understands that. Williams is that coach.
“You’re going to mess up. Things are going to go wrong,” Bell said. “When you have a coach that knows that but appreciates the hard work that you’re putting in, to a player, that’s what matters.
“Through my entire football career, that’s been the model. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it going full-speed. When you’ve got a coach that understands that and appreciates how much work you do and how hard you’re trying, that’s what a players’ coach is. That’s not a coach that lets guys get away with stuff or anything like that. It’s a guy that understands the hard word and the stress of the game.”
Williams’ passion is clearly infectious. It attracts a wide range of NFL talent, too. Over the last week, Williams has tweeted about working with the Washington Redskins’ Ryan Grant to the Oakland Raiders’ James Jones.
“You can’t not respect the man,” Bell said. “He garners respect because he knows so much about the position. He knows so much about the game.
“Guys like myself, that’s what we flock to. We flock to knowledge because there’s so much about the game that you can learn from a guy like Coach Dub. You can sit down with him every day for weeks and learn something new every day.”
As for how Williams will fit at Nebraska, Bell isn’t concerned.
“He’s perfect for Nebraska,” Bell said. “The fans absolutely love him and he’s got the personality for the players. He’s got the personality for this city, this state. He’s outgoing, he’s fun to be around, he’s hilarious. On top of that, he’s one of the best wide receivers coaches in the country. You put all those factors into one man and you’re going to have a successful receiving corp.”
Bell still looks back fondly on the staff that helped develop him through his collegiate years. He’s clear that he has nothing but love and respect for Bo Pelini and the former staff. However, he’s also excited for the future of Nebraska football.
“No one can ever take that away from me, how much I love and appreciate those men for what they did for me,” Bell said. “It’s really difficult to put into words and to tell someone how much you appreciate what they’ve done for you and how much you love them for that. And not just done for me, but how they treated me. They helped me become a man.
“At the same time, I have the utmost respect and confidence in Coach Riley and this staff. I just can’t wait to watch this year’s team.”
Looking forward, Bell is ready to start his career in the NFL. There’s plenty of work left to do, but he’s more than ready thanks to the guidance of Williams. He also knows where you’ll be able to find him when he has some time off.
“I’ve had a tremendous time working with him and there’s no question who I’ll be working with during my time away from my NFL team,” Bell said.
After all, he could have gone anywhere. Instead, Bell came back to Lincoln.
“This is my time off right now. I’m just training and gearing up for training camp. I could be anywhere in the world but there’s no question where I wanted to be. I wanted to be working with Coach Williams.”
Erin Sorensen
That’s not to say this was Bell’s plan all along. He didn’t think he’d be returning to his collegiate hometown quite so soon. Williams changed that all with one text message.
“He shot me a text two weeks ago that said, ‘KB. We’re going to be getting work in this next week. Do you want to come?”’ Bell said. “I had known all about Coach Dub before I had gotten the chance to work with him and I said, ‘Absolutely, there is no question. I’ll be there.’ I asked when he wanted to start and he said Wednesday. I said, ‘I’ll be there Tuesday night.’”
Fans know Bell as the most productive receiver in Husker history. Sitting at the top of Nebraska’s career charts in receptions and receiving yards, it’s hard to imagine Bell has too many things he needs to improve upon. That’s where Williams comes in.
“Within the first 30 minutes of working with him, he identified every single thing I struggled with throughout my entire career,” Bell said. “Thirty minutes after that, we were fixing them.”
Williams, known as ‘Coach Dub’ by Bell, quickly earned the respect and appreciation of the Husker alum. His passion and knowledge for the game really stood out and the fact that Williams shares that passion and wisdom freely was even better.
“He’ll let you know when it’s bad,” Bell said. “If you do it bad, he’s going to let you know that it’s bad. If you do it right, he’s going to love you up and he’s going to let you know that you did it right.
“The best part about that is when he lets you know that you did it wrong, he’ll come back and tell you exactly what you did wrong. There’s no, ‘That was really bad,’ and you jump to the back of the line and do it again. He corrects the mistakes that are made.”
And mistakes do happen. Bell knows that, which is why it’s important to him to find a coach that knows and understands that. Williams is that coach.
“You’re going to mess up. Things are going to go wrong,” Bell said. “When you have a coach that knows that but appreciates the hard work that you’re putting in, to a player, that’s what matters.
“Through my entire football career, that’s been the model. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it going full-speed. When you’ve got a coach that understands that and appreciates how much work you do and how hard you’re trying, that’s what a players’ coach is. That’s not a coach that lets guys get away with stuff or anything like that. It’s a guy that understands the hard word and the stress of the game.”
Williams’ passion is clearly infectious. It attracts a wide range of NFL talent, too. Over the last week, Williams has tweeted about working with the Washington Redskins’ Ryan Grant to the Oakland Raiders’ James Jones.
“You can’t not respect the man,” Bell said. “He garners respect because he knows so much about the position. He knows so much about the game.
“Guys like myself, that’s what we flock to. We flock to knowledge because there’s so much about the game that you can learn from a guy like Coach Dub. You can sit down with him every day for weeks and learn something new every day.”
As for how Williams will fit at Nebraska, Bell isn’t concerned.
“He’s perfect for Nebraska,” Bell said. “The fans absolutely love him and he’s got the personality for the players. He’s got the personality for this city, this state. He’s outgoing, he’s fun to be around, he’s hilarious. On top of that, he’s one of the best wide receivers coaches in the country. You put all those factors into one man and you’re going to have a successful receiving corp.”
Bell still looks back fondly on the staff that helped develop him through his collegiate years. He’s clear that he has nothing but love and respect for Bo Pelini and the former staff. However, he’s also excited for the future of Nebraska football.
“No one can ever take that away from me, how much I love and appreciate those men for what they did for me,” Bell said. “It’s really difficult to put into words and to tell someone how much you appreciate what they’ve done for you and how much you love them for that. And not just done for me, but how they treated me. They helped me become a man.
“At the same time, I have the utmost respect and confidence in Coach Riley and this staff. I just can’t wait to watch this year’s team.”
Looking forward, Bell is ready to start his career in the NFL. There’s plenty of work left to do, but he’s more than ready thanks to the guidance of Williams. He also knows where you’ll be able to find him when he has some time off.
“I’ve had a tremendous time working with him and there’s no question who I’ll be working with during my time away from my NFL team,” Bell said.
After all, he could have gone anywhere. Instead, Bell came back to Lincoln.
“This is my time off right now. I’m just training and gearing up for training camp. I could be anywhere in the world but there’s no question where I wanted to be. I wanted to be working with Coach Williams.”
Erin Sorensen
