Lucky for him, this past year Collins became the school's head football coach and this fall, his gym teacher.
"Walked up to me and gave me a firm handshake," Williams said. "I was like 'so let me guess, you're Mo Collins?' And he was like, 'yes I am.'"
When he woke up Sunday morning, Williams saw the worst possible news when he logged on Facebook.
"I saw a status that said Mo Collins died of kidney failure," Williams said.
Just 38 years old, Collins passed away unexpectedly.
"It's a big, big, big heartbreak," Williams said. "You know somebody you've got depending on you and then, just knowing he's gone."
Collins wasn't just Williams' favorite player, teacher and coach.
"He took me up under his wing like a father would," Williams said.
He says going back to school Monday, could be too much to bear.
"Not seeing him?" Williams said. "I probably won't even go to be honest."
The school will have additional guidance counselors there to help struggling students. Williams says he'll never forget the commitment "Coach Mo" made to his students and players.
"He cared about us," Williams said. "That was our coach."
Several players on the West Charlotte football team shared the same sentiment for Collins.
"He was like a father figure [to me], football player Isiah Kelly said. "He wanted to see all of us succeed, no matter what we did."
Collins was one of 10 new football coaches in Mecklenburg County this fall.
Collins played on a 1993 West Charlotte team that reached the North Carolina 4A championship game. He later enrolled at Florida, where he played on a national championship team under coach Steve Spurrier.
After his junior season at Florida, Collins entered the NFL draft and was selected by Oakland Raiders in the first round, No. 23 overall. He played six seasons with the Raiders, including the 2002 Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Bucs.
