Milton Williams’ dad was raised in South Florida but watches Eagles games like he’s from South Philly

NEW ORLEANS — To understand why Milton Williams Sr. watches Eagles games like he grew up in the 700 Level, you have to know about the phone call he received four years ago while driving his big rig on a Texas freeway.

Williams, the father of Eagles’ defensive tackle Milton Williams, dreamed as a kid of reaching the NFL but fell short. He became a truck driver, often going to work on little sleep. The son of a single mother, the elder Williams wanted to be the dad he didn’t have and poured everything into his three children.

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His son was preparing for the NFL draft when his agent called. The younger Williams had just interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders, the agent said, and Jon Gruden asked the player who his role model was. The older Williams thought his son would say Aaron Donald or another NFL star he admired.

Williams told the Raiders that his role model was his dad, the truck driver who showed him every day what it meant to work hard.

“I had to pull over,” Williams Sr. said. “I had tears in my eyes for 30 minutes because he said I was his role model. My son said I was his role model. Now I walk around with my chest out.”

So that’s why Williams, who will be in the Superdome on Sunday to see his son in the Super Bowl, gets animated on Sundays when he’s watching the Birds at his home in Texas.

His daughter filmed Williams’ antics earlier this season as the dad pretended to call Jalen Hurts on the phone during the game to tell him what play to run and then danced in front of his TV when the Eagles scored. Williams picked up the phone again, pretending to call his son to tell him to force a turnover.

Williams’ son is a professional football player but Williams Sr. is still a rabid fan, watching the game like a diehard. NFL dads, they’re just like you. Williams Sr. was raised in South Florida but his living room sounds like South Philly.

“That’s him. That’s him all the way,” the younger Williams said. “I feel like he’s kind of living through me. He’s a big football fan. He’s the one who got me started playing football. I feel like he’s just letting all that emotion out because he’s just proud of who I am now.”

Milton Williams grew up in the same Florida town as Andre Waters, the legendary hard-hitting safety of the Eagles’ “Gang Green” defense. There wasn’t much to do in Pahokee, Fla. except chase rabbits — Williams bought his first pair of Jordan sneakers by selling rabbits he caught — and look up to Waters, who Williams calls his “Big Brother.”

He would see Waters jog around the town and wonder why he wasn’t in the weight room.

“He said a coach told him that he’d rather play a game at 70 percent the whole game than 100 percent for a quarter,” Williams said. “I didn’t understand that until I got older. But I said ‘Oh. OK.’”

Williams credits Waters, who died in 2006, with giving him the work ethic he passed to his children. His son has used that work ethic to develop this season into a strong pass rusher who will be a sought-after free agent after the Super Bowl.

The league’s top-ranked defense was powered by a dominant defensive line and Williams carved out a role.

“He’s going to outwork anybody on any team,” Williams Sr. said. “He’s a workhorse. He says he wants to be the best. I say ‘Just keep it up.’”

And his success — Pro Football Focus graded Williams this season as the 18th-highest interior defender — traces back to Waters.

“You come from where I’m from down there, you work hard,” Williams Sr. said “He taught me everything when I was in seventh and eighth grade. How to work out and run hills. Work hard.”

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Williams Sr. played college football and basketball, but his tryouts with the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the early 1990s didn’t pan out. He became a truck driver and said he would never drive over the road, meaning he returned home every night even if it meant he would get little sleep before a new day started.

“I said I wasn’t going to leave my children,” Williams said. “My dad wasn’t in my life. He wasn’t around. So I said, ‘Once I get children, I’m going to make sure I’m with my children 24/7.’ That’s what I did.”

Williams returned home to help his wife make dinner, mow the grass, and take his children to their games and practices. He slept for three or four hours and was back in his truck before sunrise.

“So I have no excuses for not being able to work hard or not being able to do what I have to do,” the younger Williams said. “He set a great example for me. He showed me what hard work does for you.”

Williams was a two-star recruit out of high school, redshirted his first year at Louisiana Tech, and started his college career as a backup. Williams was overlooked his whole life, his dad said, so this was nothing new.

He shined in his final two college seasons before the Eagles drafted him in 2021’s third round.

“I said I wanted my name to be called on draft night,” Williams Sr. said. “Well, my name wasn’t called back in 1991 or 1992. But they still called my name in 2021. They still said ‘Milton Williams.’ My name was called. Maybe I wasn’t ready. But I got my son and my daughters and everybody is doing their thing.”

That’s why Williams watches the games with the passion of the fans who cheer every Sunday for his son. He’s a fan, too. His son just happens to be on his TV screen.

“To see Milton on TV, I tell him ‘You’re doing something that I tried to do,’” Williams Sr. said. “I pushed him and I told him ‘If you listen to me, I’ll make sure you get there.’ After he got drafted, in his apartment in Philly, I said ‘Milton, have I lied to you yet?’ He said ‘No dad.’ I tell him ‘Whenever you’re on the field, make sure they call your name. Make them say something about you. The eyes are going to be on you. You know where we come from. We come from hard work.’”

The Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.