Southern Illinois quarterback D.J. Williams is hosting his third annual youth football camp June 21 at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights. Registration for the free camp is open to youths from ages 6-14. (Photo provided by D.J. Williams)
By Dan Verdun
It’s about honoring and remembering. It’s about giving back. And it’s about moving forward.
That’s how Southern Illinois quarterback D.J. Williams describes the purpose of his third annual Baylock Elites Youth Football Camp and Clinic, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 21 at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.
The event is open to ages 6 to 14 and is free.
“I want to see as many kids here as possible,” Williams said. “Registration is open until the day of the camp. We don’t cap it off.”
The camp honors the memory of Williams’ childhood friend and teammate Jacquice Baylock, who was murdered five years ago.
“July 1, 2020. That’s a day that changed my life,” Williams told Prairie State Pigskin. “He was on my first ever football team. He was my teammate and friend. I remember going over to his house. Our mothers are really close. He was like family to me.”
The idea for the camp came about from brainstorming sessions with Baylock’s mother, Latoya Newman, Williams and others.
“His mom wanted something to keep his name alive. At first, she wanted to start a (youth) football team in his honor called Baylock Elites. My brother was coaching, but we couldn’t find enough (other) coaches. That costs a lot of money coming out of her pocket. It just wasn’t the right time for that program to blossom into what it should have been,” Williams explained.
Thus, the idea for the camp and clinic was hatched. The first event took place in 2023. Williams said about 75 youngsters attended last year’s event.
“We got all our teammates that we played with through middle school and high school and guys that were coaching or that he had played 7-on-7 football with. All these guys came together to give the kids in our community something to look forward to every year,” Williams said.
Lending a Saluki paw
Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill and a few Saluki teammates are among those attending this year’s event.
“D.J. is incredible,” Hill said. “In my whole time here (at SIU), he’s one of the best young men we’ve ever had. He’s really got it all.”
Hill grew up in downstate DuQuoin. Like Williams, he was a two-sport standout in football and basketball. Hill developed into a record-setting quarterback at SIU in the 2000s. He was hired as a Saluki assistant under Dale Lennon in 2014 before being named SIU head coach two years later.
Though coming from very different backgrounds, Williams and Hill have not only bonded over the game they love but also in having great pride for community and civic responsibility.
“D.J. talks about that a lot,” Hill said. “Whenever people talk about what they want to do (in the future), he always mentions going back to his high school and one day being the head coach. He always talks about wanting to help out kids like him on the south side of Chicago.”
Keeping a name, legacy alive
Williams and Baylock played together at Thornton Township High School.
“He was a star player,” Williams said of his friend. “He was always one of the best players every time he stepped on the field . . . He was special. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would have had a chance to play in the NFL as a receiver.”
Williams said he tells camp attendees Baylock’s story.
“It’s to keep my brother’s name and legacy alive and so that people will understand who he was as a football player and the type of talent he possessed,” Williams said. “That’s probably the biggest thing about this camp. I never let his name go unsaid. I talk to the kids about him every year. I talk about what he meant to me and how he helped me as a football player. They know about my love for him and why I do this.”
Williams transferred to Southern Illinois after starting his collegiate career at Murray State, where he was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2021.
While Hill is wowed by Williams’ talents on the field, the 40-year-old coach is just as amazed by the person his quarterback is.
“He’s always thinking about giving back,” Hill said. “He’s got a natural way about himself like that. He’s come to my daughters’ dance competition or birthdays. He doesn’t do it for show.
“Like his mom told me about doing the camp, D.J. does it out of the goodness of his heart. You like people like that.”
A homecoming of sorts
Williams isn’t the only former Baylock teammate that has given of his time to instruct at the camp. Williams said that linebacker LaVoise-Deontae McCoy (Homewood-Flossmoor HS/Illinois State), receiver Jadon Thompson (Naperville Central HS/Louisville and Memphis) and Elijawah Tolbert (Thornton Township HS/Eastern Illinois and Montana) have been among those who take part.
“The kids get to see players from their area they saw play (in high school) who are now college athletes,” Williams said. “These guys know the game and can teach the kids the right way.”
Williams said it’s also a homecoming of sorts for Baylock’s mother.
“She gets a big kick out of it. She loves it,” he said.
An eye toward the future
Williams, who returns as SIU’s starting quarterback following a season cut short by injury in 2024, has a goal of playing in the NFL. Beyond that, he has another plan ready to go. One that involves coaching and mentoring.
“I want to go back to my high school and build a (football) program from the ground up to the powerhouse that it was,” he said. “It means a lot to me to get back out to my neighborhood. I want to help kids who grew up in the same type of situation as I did. I want them to get great coaching like I was blessed with.”
That goal starts with the annual camp and clinic.
“I want to give these kids something to look forward to every year and something they can develop from. I want them to have the opportunity to see if their dreams can come true,” Williams said.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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