Ryan Gene Williams (born April 9, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech.
![]() Williams with the Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||||
No. 34 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | (1990-04-09) April 9, 1990 (age 32) Cold Spring, New York | ||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Manassas (VA) Jackson | ||||||||||||
College: | Virginia Tech | ||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2011 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Williams attended Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Virginia. He was the starting tailback all four years. He finished with over 2,000 rushing yards, including 1,574 yards as a junior.
As a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2008, Williams was redshirted. As a redshirt freshman in 2009, Williams took over as starting running back after starter Darren Evans suffered a season-ending ACL injury.[1] Through thirteen games he rushed for 1,655 yards on 293 carries, scored 21 touchdowns, and broke multiple Virginia Tech and ACC rushing records in the process - including Virginia Tech's single season rushing yards record and the ACC single season touchdown record with 22 touchdowns.[2] He began the 2010 season as a starter but injured his right hamstring in a game against East Carolina University and was out for three games before coming back against Duke.
On January 9, 2011, it was announced that Williams will give up his final 2 years of NCAA eligibility to make himself available for the 2011 NFL Draft.[3]
Year | Team | Att | Yards | Average | TDs | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
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2008 | Virginia Tech | Redshirt | ||||||
2009 | Virginia Tech | 293 | 1,655 | 5.6 | 22 | 16 | 180 | 1 |
2010 | Virginia Tech | 110 | 477 | 4.3 | 10 | 10 | 109 | 1 |
College Totals | 403 | 2,132 | 4.9 | 32 | 26 | 289 | 2 | |
Williams was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round (38th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.[4] On August 19, during a pre-season football game against the Green Bay Packers, Williams was injured early in the third quarter in his first run of the game, suffering a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee which cost him the entire 2011 season.
On October 9, 2012, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a left shoulder injury, after playing in only 5 games. He was released on May 12, 2014.
Williams signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on May 17, 2014.[5] He was cut on August 30 and signed to the team's practice squad the following day.
On June 28, 2015, Williams was waived/injured, and reverted to Dallas' injured reserve the next day. On September 15, he was released by the Cowboys with an injury settlement.
Arizona Cardinals 2011 NFL draft selections | |
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