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D. J. Williams (tight end)

D. J. Williams (tight end)
D.J. Williams
No. 84     Green Bay Packers
Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: September 10, 1988 (1988-09-10) (age 23)
Place of birth: Dallas, Texas
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 251 lb (114 kg)
Career information
College: Arkansas
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 5 / Pick: 141
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards

David Edward "D. J." Williams Jr (born September 10, 1988) is an American football tight end for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Packers out of University of Arkansas in the fifth round (141st pick overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Contents

High school career

Williams attended Central Arkansas Christian High School, where his initial athletic interest was Basketball. He was encouraged to try football by high school coach Tim Perry.[1]

College career

Williams played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He was long considered a competitor for the 2010 John Mackey Award which is awarded to the nation's most outstanding tight end, along with Lance Kendricks and Michael Egnew.[2] On December 9, 2010 it was announced that DJ was the 2010 John Mackey Award recipient at the 2010 Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet show on ESPNU. He has also won the 2010 Disney Spirit Award as college football's most inspirational player. DJ was named to the 2010 1st Team All-SEC squad by the coaches and the AP, after amassing 54 receptions for 627 yards and 4 TD.[3]

Professional career

Williams was considered one of the best tight end prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft.[4] Williams was selected in the fifth round, with the 141st overall pick, by the Green Bay Packers.[5]

Personal life

Williams is a member of Fellowship Bible Church in Northwest Arkansas. Although like other students Williams could have cited many accolades, he chose this statement alone to appear with his picture in the yearbook: "Baptized into Christ." Williams has cited the Passion of the Christ as exemplifying the way he and his mother, Vickie Williams, and his two sisters overcame his abusive father and other challenges, including on the football field.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Harris, Hamil; Tryggestad, Erik (2011 February). "'You have to find some way to stand back up': Abuse and struggle defined D.J. Williams' childhood, but the scholar-athlete and church member endured—and lives by faith". Christian Chronicle 68 (2): pp. 18–19. http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2159275~%91You_have_to_find_some_way_to_stand_back_up%27_%97_D.J._Williams_on_life%2C_football_and_faith. Retrieved 2011-01-04.  The article also describes the situation cited on the ESPN broadcast of the Sugar Bowl Game; with 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter, ESPNHD announcer Holly Rowe described how, on a night after Vickie Williams' husband beat her, Vickie Williams spread a map on the table in front of her children, and little D. J. pointed to Little Rock, Arkansas, as the place to which they should move to get away from his father. The Christian Chronicle article cites that within 24 hours D. J.'s alcohol-plagued father had been arrested for an unrelated crime. In 2011 D. J.'s father remains incarcerated for assault on a public servent, and D. J. has had no conversation with him in many years. In the Christian Chronicle article (p. 19), D. J. says: "I pray every day to be able to forgive him."
  2. ^ "Hogs' Williams finalist for Mackey Award". ESPN College Football. 2010-11-22. http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/17067/hogs-williams-finalist-for-mackey-award. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  3. ^ "D. J. Williams wins spirit award". Central Arkansas Christian. 2010-11-19. http://www.cacmustangs.org/news-and-events/latest-news/DJ-Williams-wins-Disney-Spirit-Award. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  4. ^ "D.J. Williams, DS #1 TE, Arkansas". NFLDraftScout.com. December 19, 2010. http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=72438&draftyear=2011&genpos=FB. Retrieved January 4, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Packers Draft Arkansas TE D.J. Williams in Fifth Round". Green Bay Packers. April 30, 2011. http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Packers-draft-Arkansas-TE-DJ-Williams-in-fifth-round/6c1df0c6-3022-45f8-9085-4b6201cca459. Retrieved April 30, 2011. 

External links