Published Aug 9, 2021
Faion Hicks, Caesar Williams forged closer bonds before 2021 season
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Jake Kocorowski  •  BadgerBlitz
Senior Writer
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@JakeKoco

MADISON, WIS. -- You think you know somebody after being their teammate, especially while sharing the same cornerback room since the spring of 2017.

But you can always get closer.

Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams started their first career game together on Aug. 31, 2018 inside Camp Randall Stadium against Western Kentucky. Since then, they've combined to play in 68 contests heading into the 2021 season, including 47 starts (28 for Hicks, 19 for Williams) during that span.

However, the duo spent time putting forth extra work this summer, all in preparation for the 2021 season and hoping to set a new benchmark for the position group.

With all those supplementary hours spent together, what's one thing Williams learned about Hicks that he didn't know about him before?

“That is a good question. What did I learn? What did I know about Faion? Now I feel like I know everything, but one specific thing, I know he's having trouble raising a dog," Williams said with a laugh on Aug. 5.

Hicks described how the relationship of the two elder statesmen of the Wisconsin cornerback room developed further when speaking with BadgerBlitz.com during Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis.

"I'm not gonna lie. We actually got a lot closer this year," Hicks said on July 23. "Us being the two older guys with 'Goose' [Rachad Wildgoose] being gone, we just kind of realized like, hey, let's take this corner room to the next level. Let's make sure [when] we leave, those guys kind of have seen what it takes.

"So me and 'Caes,' we literally spent every day together this summer," Hicks continued with a laugh. "We spent every day together this summer, and I'm proud of him, man, and how he's matured, how he's stepped out, how he's going about his business this offseason so I'm excited for him as well."

The two initially emerged as a staple of the cornerback room during the 2018 season. Hicks started 11 of the 12 games he played, with Williams starting five of the 12 contests he participated in that year.

Both now enter 2021 with the ability and leadership to be fourth-year starters. Hicks -- who can work both at the outside corner and inside nickel slot positions -- currently sits with 80 career tackles and nine passes defended since donning the cardinal and white, including four passes defended during the truncated 2020 season. Williams has suited up for 35 contests between 2017-20 and is credited with 18 passes defended, 12 of which came in 2019.

The tandem "kind of realized that it's going to take more than just doing the minimum," according to the Hicks. Thus, they pushed one another to do something extra each day.

Williams detailed how they created a schedule where they trained on a different aspect of their cornerback craft on a different day of the week.

“So one day it was press, one day it was off, one day it was high-pointing deep balls, and the next day it's whatever the group feels like we need," Williams said. “Doing that every day, we would be the last ones to leave, and after that, we'll do recovery. After that, we'll get something to eat. After that, we'll play a game with each other and then we'll play the game and then we'll watch film, and then we'll leave again to go eat.

"So it was just a fun time. We grew a lot closer and we got to just experience one another."

Both corners also share a parallel journey of heading north to Wisconsin from southern states to begin their collegiate careers. Hicks traveled to Madison from Miami as an early enrollee for the class of 2017, while Williams hails from Grand Prairie, Tex. -- a city sandwiched between Dallas and Fort Worth -- and became part of UW's 2016 class.

"We're both from the south, so our vibes just connected, our vibes are just the same, so I like it," Williams said.

The super senior then referenced a pair of cornerbacks who locked down opposing aerial attacks for the vast majority of Wisconsin's 2017 season that ended with a 13-1 record and an Orange Bowl win.

“I think it's something like ‘DT’ [Derrick Tindal] and Nick [Nelson]," Williams continued. "You know, I think every good pair of corners has to have that relationship to be successful on the field."

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Assistant Hank Poteat took over as Wisconsin's cornerbacks coach in the spring, and he described in April how Hicks was "the leader of the room" and that Williams was "a true vet" while complimenting his consistency and responsiveness to techniques.

Poteat, a 10-year NFL veteran who played in the defensive backfield for five different teams before turning to coaching, recalled the work put forth by the upperclassmen from what they learned in the spring.

“They would go to different fields and work on releases with receivers, and they would actually record them, and they would send them to me and I would watch some of the things that they were doing," Poteat said on Aug. 5. "But I thought they were competing and getting each other better and just kind of feeding off of each other.

"They even started to push Caesar to become more of a leader, vocal leader. So I think both of them are feeding off of each other and definitely helping each other get better.”

Hicks and Williams lead a group of cornerbacks who, on paper, are especially deep in game experience and abilities. Donte Burton, Deron Harrell and Semar Melvin all have started games (16 total among the three) and have appeared in a combined 52 contests since becoming Badgers.

Alexander Smith and Dean Engram showed promise during the five practices open to select reporters in April, displaying the ability to play both on the outside and in the slot and showcasing further depth and flexibility. The group as a whole can be thought of as a strength of the defense and to the team.

Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard took over the secondary in 2016, Williams's first year in the program, and he activity recruited Hicks. He has seen firsthand the growth of the two.

"These guys, I've had their entire career so just knowing kind of where they were at physically, mentally when they came into the program to where they are now and seeing that growth, it's a lot of fun as a coach," Leonhard said on Aug. 5. “They had decisions last year. Do I leave? Do I come back? What's the right decision? And being part of that process was gratifying as a coach. And to get them back and the leadership they have and understanding they’re back to take this team to another level -- and they're back to try to take themselves, and what pushes them over the edge to make it to that next level -- there's a different urgency, I would say than some young guys where it's just, ‘Ah, you know what, this is a couple years away.’

"They realize what's on the horizon, that they're not going to be in this locker room for much longer so they're trying to leave that impact on and off the field. I think I felt that as a coach, and I think our locker room would agree that those guys came in with a little bit different approach as far as the kind of legacy they want to leave in their last season.”

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