"He loved every minute of it."
It was time for DJ to begin his college career, and he had a few options with teams like Alabama State, Southern and Western Carolina all showing interest in him. He ended up committing to Grambling State, where his father had carved out a legacy as one of the best players to suit up for the program.
Doug wasn't the main reason he chose to play for the Tigers. It had more to do with being closer to his family; some of his siblings were living in Louisiana at the time, and playing at Grambling allowed his grandmother to see him play. His mother also lived an hour away in Dallas, so it just made sense for him to be there.
Doug didn't come into the situation until after DJ had committed to Grambling. Doug was coaching the Virginia Destroyers in the United Football League but resigned to take over for the Tigers after former head coach Rod Broadway stepped away from the program and moved on to coach North Carolina A&T.
DJ said there isn't really a difference between Doug the father and Doug the football coach. He was a father figure to several of DJ's former teammates, and some of them still call him for advice. His coaching and parenting styles are the same -- "he's going to be hard on you," DJ said, "but he's gonna be loving as well."
Doug, however, said it was "tough as hell," to be a head coach of a team with a son on the roster. It was obvious to Doug that DJ was the best quarterback on the team, which is why he ended up naming DJ the starter as a freshman. DJ still had to earn that right, though, and Doug didn't make it easy for him.
If anything, DJ felt like his father pushed him harder, and it was noticeable.
"He could tell me more stuff than he could tell another guy," DJ said. "Because I couldn't go do anything ... I got six sisters, so they might get on to him, but other than that, it was like, 'Who are you gonna go tell?'"
Doug wasn't going to give him any special treatment, either. He had another position coach work with DJ and would get regular updates on his son's progress. DJ did eventually ask Doug why he didn't take a more personal approach in coaching him. Williams has decades of experience playing the position, which surely would have been useful for DJ. But as the head coach, Doug had responsibilities to his other players, too, and he couldn't put all his time on his son.
"I look back and I really hate that I didn't spend as much time with him at that position that I could have," Doug said. "But I liked his independence. He wasn't one of those kids that you would've thought was my kid. And everybody always said, 'One thing I'll say about Coach Williams, whether it was his kid or no kid, he was gonna get on everybody's ass.'"
DJ and the Tigers thrived with him at quarterback. Grambling State finished DJ's freshman year with an 8-4 record with DJ throwing 14 touchdowns. DJ had an 80-yard passing score against Alabama A&M in the season finale, helping the Tigers pull out the 16-15 victory and win the SWAC Championship -- just as Doug did during his own college career.
"That was a great day for me and him," Doug said. "You got daddy and the son, both played at the same school, and both of us won a conference championship. That's hard to accomplish. It was a good feeling just to watch him on the field. He loved every minute of it."