For its 18th season, the HBO series “Hard Knocks” is chronicling the training camp and preseason of the New York Jets.

Through two episodes, the focus of this year’s “Hard Knocks” has been on new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP who joined the Jets in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in April.

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But the big personality of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams took some of the spotlight in this week’s second episode, and it touched on what the former Alabama All-American hopes to do in the 2023 season.

New York practiced for two days with the Carolina Panthers at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in advance of their preseason meeting last week. Williams and the rest of the Jets defenders weren’t allowed to touch Bryce Young and the other Carolina quarterbacks during scrimmages.

But that didn’t keep Williams from counting his sacks, and he told Rodgers and coach Robert Saleh that he had piled up 10 (later amended by Rodgers to 11).

But Saleh had a response for Williams.

“Today ain’t Sept 11,” Saleh said, referring to the date of New York’s season-opening game against the Buffalo Bills.

Williams didn’t let it take the air of his balloon, though, and told Saleh that he “got to have five in one game” when the season gets here.

Williams’ single-game high for sacks is two, accomplished four times, including twice in 2022 – against Rodgers and the Packers on Oct. 16 and Josh Allen and the Bills on Dec. 11.

Williams led the Jets with 12 sacks in 2022 as he earned first-team All-Pro honors.

With 45 sacks, New York finished seventh in the NFL in 2022. The two teams on the top of the sack chart – the Philadelphia Eagles with 70 and the Kansas City Chiefs with 55 – played for the NFL championship last season.

The Jets also had one of the top-ranked defenses in the NFL for points allowed and yards allowed per game, placing third and fourth, respectively, in those categories in 2022.

But New York came up with only 16 takeaways. Only three teams in the NFL had fewer in 2022.

“You want to be No. 1,” Williams said during a recent appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams.” “If you’re not first, you’re last. That’s like Ricky Bobby says: If you’re not first, you’re last. …

“We always talk about: Chase perfection. We know we’re not going to be perfect because we’re all human. But you chase perfection, you can almost get close to it. That’s the thing we always focus on – getting better every single day. Trying to be perfect every single day when it comes down to your footwork, when it comes down to the small details and doing the necessary things like getting turnovers, getting sacks and getting sacks-forced fumbles, these big changing plays that put the ball in the offense’s hands.”

During the second episode, Saleh is shown telling Carolina coach Frank Reich that the Jets will go as far as their defensive line takes them in 2023.

New York is scheduled to continue its preseason schedule at 6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Williams did not play in either of the Jets’ previous preseason games.

New episodes of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets” will premiere at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sept. 5.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.