Quinnen Williams was a unanimous All-American and the Outland Trophy winner playing for coach Nick Saban at Alabama, then became the third player picked in the 2019 NFL Draft. But for all his football accomplishments, the defensive lineman has “just scratched the surface” on what he can do, the New York Jets defensive coordinator said.

Williams made his pro debut as the starting nose tackle in the New York's preseason opener on Thursday night. Williams played the Jets' first two defensive series and registered one tackle in a 31-22 loss to the New York Giants.

“I did good things, but I did bad things,” Williams said. “So just look at the film, watch what I did and then get better on everything, get better on our objectives.”

.@nyjets @QuinnenWilliams played 11 snaps in a multiple of fronts against the @Giants starting OL. Good work, good start. Solid effort. Drew a holding call and got in on a tackle. Much more to come. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/NpNjo4SFjH — Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 10, 2019

Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said working with the rookie "brings a smile to my face."

“He’s done very well,” Gregg Williams said during a Tuesday press conference. "What I would say about him is we’ve just scratched the surface with him. Nick Saban, great friend, just scratched the surface with him. Understand how young he is, and he’s going to continue to move up and up.

"Until you get a chance to be with him every day, you don't realize how smart he is. And you guys, conversations you've had with him, don't be surprised if he makes you look like an idiot because he can. He's very sharp. He has quickly gotten the respect of and earned the respect of other players and other veterans on the team by how he's conducted himself. Good young man."

His first training camp hasn't worn the shine off being a pro for Quinnen Williams, especially since it included a Monday meeting with Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, the quarterback in the Jets' only Super Bowl victory and, like Williams, a former Crimson Tide star.

One of the greatest moments of my life meeting and talking to @RealJoeNamath #RTR #Jets https://t.co/Kbb9DLmSS6 — Quinnen Williams (@QuinnenWilliams) August 13, 2019

“It’s dope,” Williams told SportsNet New York. “It’s like playing Madden, but in Madden. It’s dope to me. I love every last bit of it. Just to get to come to work, man. People like, ‘What you going to do with your money?’ Sometimes I forget, like ‘I am getting paid.’ In college, you’re working harder every day, and you’re not getting paid. To be out here, you’ll forget sometimes, ‘I’m getting paid millions of dollars to do this,’ so it’s amazing.”

Gregg Williams said the Jets’ prize prospect “will continue to grow” as part of New York’s defensive line.

“We’re going to have a great rotation,” Williams said. “… You can’t expect a defensive lineman to play 100 percent of the snaps. He’s in a fist fight in a phone booth for three hours. How’re you going to do this? It’s not like playing offensive line, OK? It’s totally different in the power, in the exercise and the conditioning of that position, so we have a rotation that has to be, and when we take however many (Jets coach) Adam (Gase) says we’re going to take into the game, our job is, as much as we can, to get it 50-50 with all those guys. Sometimes the ability level makes it be 60-40, sometimes it’s 65-35.”

The Jets play their second preseason game at 6:30 p.m. CDT Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Alabama TV stations WSFA in Montgomery, WDFX in Ozark, WBRC in Birmingham and WAFF in Huntsville will broadcast the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.