FSU DE James Williams, fueled by the Carnivore Diet, beefed up by 20 pounds so he could do more than hunt QBs

TALLAHASSEE – Florida State defensive end James Williams recently started the Carnivore Diet, a meat-based meal plan that’s helped him gain about 20 pounds of good weight over the last two months.

It’s a fitting name for a dietary strategy of a edge defender who has beefed up so he can do more than just hunt quarterbacks at a high level this fall.

“I’ve already felt it so far. I definitely feel stronger, I feel like I dictate what everyone else does,” said Williams, who followed position coach Terrance Knighton and defensive coordinator Tony White down from Nebraska to finish what the trio started together in turning Williams from JUCO walk-on to one of the most efficient pass rushers in the country.

Knighton said that when Williams first got to Nebraska a couple years ago, it was a challenge to get him to wake up at 250 pounds. Now, the lengthy 6-foot-6 defender is easily clearing 260 and is often in the 265-pound range per the coaching staff.

“It’s great, he’s actually got quads now,” joked White. “Before, if you covered his upper body and just looked at his legs, you would’ve thought he was a wide receiver.”

Williams credits director of performance nutrition Jaden Hamil for devising a meal plan, director of strength and conditioning Josh Storms for devising a weight plan, his fiancé – a nutritionist – for getting the benefits of Carnivore Diet on his radar, and Knighton for pushing him to get his calories through shakes when he wasn’t hungry early on in the transition from the midwest to muggy Tallahassee.

It takes a village.

The combined efforts behind Williams’ growth were done with a primary goal in mind: Get the pass-rush specialist – Williams had 5 sacks as a rotational player last year and was second nationally in PFF’s Pass Rush Productivity formula (13.8) – physically ready to become an every-down player.

“When he steps on the scale and sees 265, now he thinks he’s a big, strong man,” Knighton said. “That’s half the battle.” 

There were some game plans last year under White and Knighton in which the coaches didn’t even count on Williams playing snaps on standard downs, just passing ones. 

Run-heavy, power-personnel offenses like Iowa and Rutgers were no-goes for Williams because he just didn’t have the strength to anchor down effectively.

“In the pass game, you know you’ll be able to get around this guy, but in the run game, you’d need perfect technique, you have to be perfect off the ball,” Williams said. “I feel like, I still want to strive for that, but I don’t feel like it’s necessarily one-to-one that I always have to do that. …I have more power behind me, in my hips and hands. 

“We haven’t put the pads on yet, so we’ll see what happens when that comes. But so far, I feel like that’s been a lot better for me.”

The pads come on on Saturday, Day 3 of preseason camp, so Williams will see then if the extra weight can be put to good use.

“When he steps on the scale and sees 265, now he thinks he’s a big, strong man. That’s half the battle,” Knighton said. “…James is an every-down player. If he has the year I expect him to have, he won’t be here longer than a year.”