If there is one player who has benefited the most from Gyasi Zardes beginning the preseason with the U.S. men’s national team, it’s probably rookie forward JJ Williams.

A 6-foot-3 striker, Williams started each second half of Crew SC’s three friendlies in Chula Vista, California, at the top, and he created some buzz this past Monday when he scored twice against Los Angeles FC, one being the equalizer before the Crew won 4-2.

Williams joins a team that struggled to score at times last season outside of Zardes, who had 19 goals on his way to being named MLS Comeback Player of the Year. Going from college to MLS will require adjustment, but Williams’ ability to get on the scoresheet will make it tough for coach Caleb Porter to keep him off the field.

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“I think with JJ, he’s a young player, he’s only 21, but he plays a little older than he is,” Porter said. “He’s got a confidence to him. He’s got a good energy to him. He’s up for it.”

Williams left the University of Kentucky after netting 18 goals and eight assists in 22 games during his junior season in 2018. He was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, given to the best player in men’s college soccer.

The Crew made him the 18th overall pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft in January. He is one of seven players who signed a Generation Adidas deal, a program designed to incentivize teams to develop top college players without the player’s salary counting against the cap until that player’s Adidas contract is up.

Porter had Williams playing in the No. 9 position, the striker, in his 4-2-3-1 scheme. Williams likely will be competing with Patrick Mullins and Edward Opoku for time behind Zardes. Williams’ coach at Kentucky, Johan Cedergren, said it’s a situation Williams has the right attitude for and a reason he believes Williams can be a strong asset for the Crew.

“He’ll feel like he belongs from Day 1,” Cedergren said. “He won’t go and be intimidated, but he won’t misbehave, and he will go into that locker room and look around and say, ‘You know what, I think I can play here.’ ”

Part of the reason Cedergren believes Williams can make the transition necessary to play right away with the Crew is because of the adjustments he made from his sophomore to junior seasons. Cedergren also thinks Zardes will serve as a model for where Williams believes he can take his game.

Playing in a 4-4-2 formation in college, Cedergren said Williams will have to learn how to be the lone player up top, if that’s his role in Porter’s system. Williams does, however, have the size to go against athletic, experienced center backs right away.

“When they come up against JJ, he’s not easy to move,” Cedergren said.

There is stiff competition up front for Williams to overcome is he is to have a significant role in his first season. Porter said it’s obvious he is far from reaching his full potential. Yet, with Williams’ physical tools and confidence, there is significant potential.

“He’s still raw, he’s still young, but it’s nice to have a horse in the stable like him where you know he’s just going to get better and better,” Porter said.

Surgery successful

The Crew announced Friday that defender Milton Valenzuela had successful surgery on the torn ACL in his right knee. He will miss the entire 2019 season; the recovery time is nine to 12 months.

jmyers@dispatch.com

@Jacob_Myers_25