With the season opener being just under 2 weeks away, RIFC have added some depth to the roster. Defender CJ Williams has been signed after a four year career at Boston College.

Player Background

Williams is a 22 year-old native of Valley Stream, New York. He spent his youth at Met Oval and the NYCFC and New York Red Bulls academies before heading to Boston College. In his four years there, Williams appeared in 55 games with 52 of them being starts. He made an immediate impact at Boston College, starting in 12 of his 14 appearances as a freshman. During that freshman year, he played with RIFC midfielder Amos Shapiro-Thompson, who was in his final season in Chestnut Hill.

Williams would continue to be a consistent presence in the back line through the rest of his career with the Eagles and ended up being drafted by the New England Revolution in the third round of the MLS Draft after his junior year. He ended up returning to school for his senior season. This essentially meant that he could not be re-drafted by another MLS team and the Revolution held his rights for the next two years should he end up going to MLS.

During that senior season at Boston College, Williams would provide this memorable goal against rivals BU:

A great strike and a great moment for CJ in a game that his side would come back to win 2-1. He also played a part in the winner, as his long ball over the top helped set it up.

Analysis

From an RIFC perspective, this move seems like a no-brainer. Williams immediately fills a position of need in the back line. Assuming Khano Smith continues with a back three, before this signing RIFC had five natural CBs for three spots. The likely starting three would be Hamady Diop, Karifa Yao, and Grant Stoneman. Frank Nodarse and Hugo Bacharach are the other two players who could slot in. However, Hugo had a ton of success in midfield last season and it’s probably a good idea to keep him there. Adding Williams immediately helps make up the numbers.

However, I think this move might be more than just an end of the bench depth piece. CJ is a left-footer, which is important to have in this system. He seems like a perfect understudy for Hamady Diop on the left side of the back three. I could see him getting some playing time in the cup competitions and hopefully he develops behind a very talented Diop.

Overall, I think this is a solid move. Williams is the second college player signed this offseason, after Brown forward Jamin Gogo Peters. I appreciate RIFC’s commitment to signing players who played in the area collegiately. We’ve seen the team bring in a few players from Providence College in the past two seasons and now we have Brown and BC. It’s great to give players in the area opportunities to play professionally. Hopefully CJ and Jamin smash it.