"It gives me some stability and the situation I have has been really good for me," Williams said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters.
Williams is an attacking defender, with one of MLS's best throw-ins. This past season he had a goal and three assists in 32 regular-season games, all starts. In addition, Williams started both playoff games against Houston, which the Union lost, 3-1, in the aggregate-goal series.
Williams is a former forward and, in the past, Nowak has talked about moving him up to the midfield.
When asked if he has been moving up during the preseason, Williams didn't want to reveal much on the strategy front.
"I don't want to get into specifics," he said. "I am naturally a defender and am comfortable back there. We have been working on a lot of things."
The Union departs on Thursday for Costa Rica for the next leg of their training camp, after returning from Florida on Sunday. They will be in Costa Rica through March 4 and will have three scrimmages and an intersquad scrimmage as well.
The Union will begin play in their third MLS season with a March 12 opener at Portland.
Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at mnarducci@phillynews.com, 856-779-3225 or @sjnard on Twitter.
