Arkansas vs Auburn Football

Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah congratulates wide receiver D'haquille Williams (right) after his second-quarter touchdown against Arkansas at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

(MARK ALMOND)

AUBURN, Alabama -- D'haquille Williams can't go home.



His cousin's death made that clear.



When his cousin, Kyrian Gray, was shot and killed at a house party in 2013, Williams' friends and family realized the circle of violence in LaPlace, La., might be inescapable.



If Williams stayed in Louisiana, his family feared he'd be next. Sticking with LSU, a one-hour drive from his home, and staying close to the violent atmosphere was not an option for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star, family friends said.



"As much as he wanted to go to LSU," said Raffeal Neal, a longtime family friend, youth football coach and juvenile officer in the New Orleans area. "It's just like saying you want to go play for the Saints, it's not gonna happen. Not coming back to Louisiana is the best thing for him."



Williams, now fifth-ranked Auburn's leading receiver and a rising star on many NFL draft boards, will face No. 15 LSU (4-1, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's not difficult to imagine Williams on opposing sideline this week if not for the advice of family and friends, who knew the junior college All-American had to leave his home state to be successful -- and to stay safe and out of trouble.



Gray, 16, was killed four days after Williams de-committed from LSU in May. Amid the trouble and concerns for his own life, Williams stayed out of the spotlight before he ultimately chose Auburn, a school far removed from the troublesome atmosphere at St. John the Baptist Parish in LaPlace, two months later.



Williams spent two years at Mississippi Gulf Coast, a short drive from his home in Louisiana. Steve Davis, Mississippi Gulf Coast's defensive coordinator, lived in the dorms with players and spoke to Williams often about his future. Williams left school three times to attend the funerals of family and friends, including his 16-year-old cousin.



"He'd go home and you never were sure he'd come back, but he always did," Davis said. "He graduated with a 3.3 (GPA) and did a great job, but there were always questions like if he was going to go challenge the guy who killed his cousin, things like that."

RELATED: Williams' rise from the bayou to Auburn, as told by former coaches

D'haquille Williams picked up All-American honors as a freshman at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. (Courtesy MGCCC)

In LaPlace, it's hard to stay out of trouble. Everyone who lives there is in the middle of it and at risk. Williams was surrounded by crime and violence every day, and his friends and his neighbors were in the mix, Neal said. "You have no escape from it," Neal said. "Fortunately, he was able to get away, in a sense, but I think a part of him has a sense of obligation to family."



Williams was not made available to reporters in Auburn this week, but he told The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger in December about his decision to leave Louisiana and make a home at Auburn following the death of his cousin.



"That had a lot of impact on it," Williams said. "Being close to home at LSU, it's like 30 minutes away from home and I know my friends are going to want to come see me. I don't want them getting in trouble and I don't want to get in trouble. ... It's good to get away from home. It was really to stay out of trouble."



Williams' bumpy life is calm now, though his journey to Auburn was long, arduous and filled with road blocks. Grades were an issue in junior high school, and when he decided to play football after spending time at Liberty Christian Academy, the state did not recognize the transfer of credits to East St. John High in Reserve, La., according to family friends.



He played high school football for only two years at East St. John, but quickly became an All-State receiver. He battled to qualify academically at the end of his high school career, and finally enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College following the completion of a GED program in 2011. It was there he was named an All-American and tabbed the nation's No. 1 junior college receiver after totaling 2,028 yards and 26 touchdowns in two seasons.



LSU, Auburn and others took notice. Meanwhile, life off the field was a stressful mess.



"He would have been successful at LSU, sure he would, but maybe getting away from there was the best thing to happen to him," Davis said.



Williams committed to Auburn on July 21, 2013 and signed with the Tigers in December. Receivers coach Dameyune Craig called Williams a "once-in-a-lifetime" player just a few days after signing with the Tigers.



"We really just sold Auburn," Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "Auburn's a great place, he came here and fell in love with it. I think home is home to anybody, but I think he was interested in maybe a fresh start somewhere. He fell in love with it. We tried to sell what we had to offer: we had a great need (at receiver) and it just kind of worked out."



In the 10 months since his arrival on campus, Williams has lived up to coaches' expectations at Auburn. He leads the team with 357 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 23 catches, and was responsible for a crucial touchdown catch and game-sealing snag in a 20-14 win at Kansas State on Sept. 18. He's the talk of Auburn, and it's hard to ignore chatter he could be a one-and-done player. An opportunity to provide for his family with a jump to the NFL in the spring is possible.



Every one of Williams' catches elicits a long, emphatic drawl of "Duuuuuuke" from Auburn fans. He's known as "Duke" here, though friends and family know him as "Dukus," a story of success from the violent depths of New Orleans.



"He's defied all the odds," said Larry Dauterive, who coached Williams at East St. John High School. "It's just amazing. He'll be a rich man one day if he stays on the straight and narrow."