College Career:Williams played two seasons at South Florida after spending two years at Fort Scott Community College, the same path taken by Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants' 2010 first-round draft choice. Raised in Tampa, Williams signed with Akron out of high school. But when he didn't qualify academically, he enrolled at Fort Scott. In two years there, Williams played in 20 games and was a two-time All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference selection. He finished with 132 tackles (76 solo), 5.5 sacks for minus 37 yards, 23.0 stops for losses of 82 yards and 13 QB pressures…Williams returned one of two fumble recoveries 97 yards for a touchdown and forced three fumbles. At South Florida, Williams totaled 99 tackles (61 solo) with 2.5 sacks for minus 27 yards and 12.0 stops for losses of 57 yards. As a collegian, Williams totaled 231 tackles (137 solo), eight sacks, 35.0 stops behind the line of scrimmage, 14 pressures, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, five pass break-ups and three interceptions. Last year, Williams was so well respected by his teammates, they elected him squad co-captain, despite entering that season with just 13 games and one start at USF.
Strengths:Speed – Williams has it in abundance. His competitiveness jumps out on tape. Williams has a tenacious desire to succeed. He admits that in high school he was a "partying type guy." But he began focusing on both his studies and his work on the field and turned around his life and his career.
How He Fits In:Williams has all the attributes to be a special teams standout – he is fast, fearless and determined. He should have an opportunity to contribute immediately on all the special teams. Williams will also get training camp reps at outside linebacker, but at 216 pounds, his initial contributions will almost certainly be on teams.
Personal:Late last October, Williams approached USF Coach Skip Holtz with an unusual request: Could he skip the Bulls' scheduled practice on Halloween to go trick-or-treating. No, Williams doesn't have an insatiable sweet tooth or a desire to relive his childhood. He has three children and wants to be the best father he can possible be. Holtz granted the request and thinks so highly of Williams he called the player his "hero." It had nothing to do with Williams' on-field accomplishments. "He's an incredibly unselfish young man. I don't know that I've ever been around anybody as committed as he is, with the heart he has," Holtz said. "I hope my son grows up to be like Jacquian Williams. I feel that strongly about him as a young man." Williams was a football and track standout at Riverview High School in Tampa. He majored in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at USF.
The Quote:"(Williams is) fast and athletic. The guy will strike you, will give us some more speed on our special teams. He's a junior college kid, so he'll be behind a little bit with regard to high level of play. He came to South Florida late, but he got into the mix really quickly there and just took off. Our scouts really did a good job digging this guy out. We think he can really give us a boost on special teams with his speed while he's learning how to play up here at this level." - General Manager Jerry Reese
Photo credit: Big East
