I believe you're talking about strong safety Kailan Williams. I don't know if he's still with the team, but for what it's worth...
SMS safety takes aim at landing spot with Rams
The sweatshirts and T-shirts tell the tale: North Carolina A&M, Southern Miss, Southern Oregon, Ball State ...
This weekend's rookie minicamp brought a conglomeration of hot shots and long shots to Rams Park, all striving to make a positive first impression. Some still will be around in July, when the team gathers in Macomb, Ill., for preseason camp. Most will not.
Among the long shots is safety Kailan Williams, an undrafted free agent from Southwest Missouri State. The Rams' starting safeties are Aeneas Williams and Adam Archuleta. Veteran Rich Coady almost surely will make the 53-man roster, and Jason Shivers, the team's fifth-round pick in last weekend's NFL draft, should be on solid footing.
With the Rams likely to keep five safeties, Kailan Williams probably would have to beat out Shane Walton, who played sparingly last season as a rookie. Williams, 6-feet-1 and 194 pounds, doesn't offer a particularly glitzy resume.
A former junior college All-American, Williams was a starter for only his senior season at SMS. He had 48 tackles, two interceptions and was voted the team's defensive player of the year, but he didn't receive even honorable mention on the All-Gateway Conference team. And the Bears went just 4-7 overall, including a 1-6 mark in the NCAA I-AA league.
Still, Williams, 22, remains philosophically upbeat. "You've got to kind of see yourself as an underdog," he said. "You have to do everything you need to do, do everything right, and try to work twice as hard as anyone ahead of you."
Williams, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., said his relationship with the Show-Me State was limited before he arrived at SMS. "I'd driven through Missouri once," he said. "But it's a nice place. Everybody is friendly and real easy to get along with."
Williams planned to stay at home and play at Arizona. But coach Dick Tomey resigned after the Wildcats finished 5-6 in 2000, Williams' senior year at Mountain View High, and was replaced by John Mackovic. Williams got lost in the shuffle.
"Coach Mackovic didn't know much about me, and he dropped me right at the end of the semester," Williams said. "Everybody else had already filled their needs." So Williams enrolled at Arizona Western, a junior college in Yuma. Four years later, he's wearing Rams blue and gold and hoping against hope to land a job in the NFL.
"I feel I'm doing all right," he said. "Obviously, everybody on this level has ability; that's why they're here. Everyone on the field can play."
SMS fullback Nate Schurman was picked up by the Saints, so if you're interested, you could keep an eye on him as well. :ramlogo:
SMSU player...
Linear Mode
