By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

Bengals coaches have raved about the transition rookie Madieu Williams has made from safety to cornerback.

He started all of Maryland's 27 games as free safety in 2002 and 2003, and Williams came to training camp as a safety.

But after cornerback Deltha O'Neal's ankle injury in the preseason opener Aug. 16 at Tampa Bay, coaches moved Williams to cornerback exclusively.

O'Neal didn't practice Monday, and depending on what happens today and Thursday, Williams could be in the starting lineup Sunday at cornerback against the Jets.

Williams downplays the difficulty of moving from safety to cornerback.

No wonder.

As a 9-year-old boy in 1990, he moved to the United States from his native Sierra Leone, ahead of a 10-year civil war that claimed 50,000 lives, according to the BBC.

Madieu lived with his grandmother, Marie, and other relatives in Freetown, the capital city, after his parents immigrated to the United States. They are both nurses. His father left four years before Madieu was brought over.

Abigail Burscher, Madieu's mother, left two years later.

They moved to and found work in Landover, Md., and saved enough money to bring Madieu to this country. He has dual citizenship.

Williams' memories of childhood in the West African nation focus on his extended family, school and playing soccer.

In the former British colony, Williams grew up speaking English and Krio, a form of English-influenced Creole.

"It's even heavily influenced now by the British," Williams said. "Especially with the huge diamond trade, a lot of Europeans are coming over there to export the diamonds."

The gems became known as "blood diamonds" for the role they played in funding conflicts and perpetuating the civil war.

The government has attempted to crack down on cross-border diamond trafficking.

More than 17,000 foreign troops, many of them British, went into the country and helped to bring about peace.

A lasting feature of the conflict was the atrocities committed by rebels, whose trademark was to hack off the hands of their victims, the BBC reported. Some 70,000 former combatants are now unarmed, but they are swelling the ranks of the unemployed in Sierra Leone.

Williams did not talk about the civil war, but said he still feels a connection to Sierra Leone. He still speaks Krio and spoke it to his elders.

"It would be inappropriate for you to speak English," he said. "You have to reciprocate."

Keiwan Ratliff (left) and Madieu Williams clash chests as they celebrate after Williams made a tackle in the fourth quarter against the Colts. (Enquirer photo/STEVEN M. HERPPICH)

Once in the United States, Williams took up American football with neighborhood children.

He didn't know anything about the NFL or U.S. football.

"Not at all, never watched it, never saw it," he said. "I picked up the game when I came here. I enjoyed it. It was fun. Once I learned it from my friends in the neighborhood, it became fun."

His brother, Michael, born in the United States, is 12 and his biggest fan. Williams has an aunt living in London who visited Maryland for the NFL draft in April.

Williams was a two-year starter as a cornerback at Duval High School in Lanham, Md. He also lettered in baseball and track and was a state qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles.

"It's not too much different here, other than the opportunities America provides for its citizens, as far as freedom of speech," Williams said. "You just have more opportunity over here."

He has not been back to Sierra Leone since he left. He plans to return some day to visit. He will teach Krio to his children "to keep it going from generation to generation. I'm not ready to relinquish that."

Williams is looking ahead to football and life after the game. He has an undergraduate degree in family studies from Maryland and plans to go into family counseling.

For now, his focus is making the most of his NFL opportunity.

"I haven't talked to the coaches about what they're going to do (Sunday)," Williams said. "My job is to perform and do what I can to help the team win."

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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