Son of White Sox GM fitting in with 49ers at WR

As a child Kyle Williams played catch with SS Ozzie Guillen, snagged ground balls with 2B Ray Durham and chatted with OF Aaron Rowand in center field.

These experiences were not part of a fantasy camp but just a typical day for Kyle, the 49ers wide receiver and son of White Sox general manager Ken Williams.

One of Kyle’s best sports memories, however, occurred during Week Two of the 2011 NFL season.

ICONKenny Williams' son, Kyle, caught his first NFL TD pass vs. the Cowboys this season.

Facing an all-out blitz from the Cowboys, QB Alex Smith quickly fired a fade pass to Williams, who tip toed the sideline for his first career TD reception.

“He couldn’t have put a better ball up there,” Williams said, “and just put me in a great position to make the play.”

It was just the second catch of the year for the 49ers’ 2010 sixth-round pick. But as WRs Braylon Edwards, Michael Crabtree and — now Josh Morgan — have battled injuries, the 5-10, 186-pounder has stepped up for the surprising, NFC West-leading 49ers.

After viewing the TD highlight, Ken Williams wrote his son a lengthy text. He told him it was a great catch and that he had received congratulatory phone calls from Major League Baseball clubhouses across the country.

Kyle said he has received countless tips from his dad and benefitted from seeing how professional athletes conduct themselves.

Now that baseball’s regular season has finished, Kyle, 23, expects Ken to attend the rest of his 49er games.

Ken, a long-time Raiders fan who grew up in San Jose, Calif., played wide receiver and cornerback at Stanford and was in the famous, 1982 Stanford-Cal game featuring “The Play.”

Like his father, Kyle played football and baseball collegiately.

“A lot of people will tell you baseball was my better sport,” Kyle said.

A second baseman, shortstop and centerfielder for three years at Arizona State, his effectiveness was limited because of lingering football injuries.

During football coach Dirk Koetter’s tenure, Kyle played baseball in the spring and football in the fall. But Koetter’s successor, former 49er coach Dennis Erickson, insisted he only play football.

After some initial disappointment, Williams came to accept that decision, realizing Erickson saw his NFL potential.

“When I was a kid, I kind of took that the wrong way … I thought that he was trying to take something away from me,” he said. “But now that I’m older, I can kind of see that he was trying to give me a real shot at something else.”

Williams sacrificed another baseball opportunity when he bypassed a chance to play professionally for his dad’s team. The White Sox drafted him in the 47th round of the 2006 MLB draft out of high school even though his father knew he wanted to earn his college degree and play football.

The White Sox also drafted Williams’ older brother, Kenny Williams Jr., in the sixth round of the 2008 draft. (Kenny Jr. is an outfielder for the AA Birmingham Barons.)

But Kyle shrugs off any nepotism talk.

“It’s my dad’s job first,” Kyle said. “He’s not going to vouch for us, draft us or stand on a table for us if we’re not deserving of it.”

If the NFL lockout had persisted, Williams, though, would have turned back to baseball.

“I’m just happy (football) came back because I don’t know how my swing would’ve been,” he said. “It might’ve been a little rusty.”

Williams’ stall has become a go-to stop for baseball chatter in the 49ers locker room. Smith and Williams discussed at length whether Justin Verlander deserves the MVP. Scott Tolzien, the No. 3 quarterback, is a Rolling Meadows, Ill. native and a diehard Cubs fan. He and Williams often talk trash about their respective Chicago baseball teams.

Williams remains enthusiastic about baseball, but he is glad he decided to pursue the gridiron instead of his father’s sport.

“There’s days where I sit back and think, ‘what if?’” he said. “But I’m happy where I
am … I’m living out my dream.”

Jeff Fedotin has written for Packers.com, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN The Magazine, the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World and Rivals.com. After graduating from Northwestern University, he interned for the Buffalo Bills