Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography
LeDominique “Buddha” Williams knows exactly what he has in the North Dakota State defensive ends room, and that’s a lot of talent and depth. After being named the d-ends coach in February 2017, Williams got to work on how to make his position group even better.
Developing young talent was key, and became even more important during fall camp after all-American senior Greg Menard went down with an ACL tear. Williams’ unit will draw a lot of attention in the fall as everyone waits to see who will step up.
Buddha Williams | Defensive ends coach
Past Coaching Stops:
- 2016 – UT Martin, Defensive Line Coach
- 2014-15 – Illinois, Defensive Graduate Assistant
- 2012-13 – Ohio, Defensive Line Graduate Assistant
- 2011 – Ashland University, Defensive Graduate Assistant/Assistant Video Coordinator
- 2009-10 – University of Charleston, Safeties/Linebackers Coach
Education:
- Bachelor’s degrees (University of Charleston): Business Administration and Sports Administration (2009)
- Master’s degree (Ohio): Coaching Education (2013)
What kind of coaching style do you bring to improve this position group even more?
Buddha Williams: “Just playing hard and doing your assignment. We want to really focus on the details, the small stuff, the technical stuff that we really want to be experts at.”
With all the depth at defensive end, how do you as a coach make sure you maximize the talent there?
BW: “Just the competition in our room makes the guys compete hard and work harder. It brings the best out of all of them. There’s not a guy that has to play a million snaps. I can give everything I got, play at max speed, for every single play. And I know when I come out, another guy can go in there and play just as hard and do his job.”
The NDSU defense refers to itself as “Code Green.” What have you learned about “Code Green” defense?
BW: “It’s a brotherhood. That’s what I know. We got to protect ourselves and protect what we put on tape and play together.”
Culture is another big talking point for NDSU football. What have you picked up on when it comes to the culture of the Bison?
BW: “I know that we stand up for each other. We protect each other. Protecting guys on offense, defense and special teams. We all want the same goal and that’s the culture of it.
