Leonard Williams, USC, Notre Dame

Southern Cal defensive end Leonard Williams had his first informal meeting on Thursday with the Tennessee Titans at the Combine in Indianapolis and said Friday that the team gave him a contact number for what could be a future teammate – Jurrell Casey.

Williams already knows of Casey, the Titans star defensive end, who also played at USC and last year signed a $36 million extension to stay in Tennessee.

“I’ve actually come into contact with him a few times as he visited USC. I actually had my first informal meeting with Tennessee yesterday and I got his number by the coaches and actually gave him a call last night and talked about it and said we could actually be teammates,” Williams said.

Williams said he would love to play opposite another Trojan on the Titans defensive line. Williams is regarded as the best defensive player in the draft, and the Titans are looking for a difference maker on either side of the football with the second overall pick.

“That would be a lot of fun to play with a former Trojan. Trojans always have that connection. We’re a strong alumni,” Williams said. “It would be great to play side-by-side with him. I know he’s been doing great in his profession so far.”

Williams, 6-5, 300, said that he hasn't studied that much film on Casey, but said he can see himself wreaking havoc along the line of scrimmage just the same.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to study his film that much. We’re a lot different body types. But at the same time, he’s been causing a lot of destruction in the backfield. I can see myself doing that at the next level,” Williams said.

Both the Titans and the Tampa Bay Bucs, who hold the No. 1 overall pick, could be choosing between a defender like Williams or quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Asked why a team should select him over a QB, Williams replied, “That’s a tough question. I’m competing with quarterbacks at a really different position than quarterback. I would say that from the previous years sometimes it’s like taking a chance when you take a quarterback. You never know what you’re going to get. I would say that I’m going to bring that disruption and physical-ness and I’m going to bring and get o the quarterback and get some sacks.”

