DeAngelo Williams

DeAngelo Williams has been in the league for a few years, and is at the end of a two-year deal with Pittsburgh. This could mean he will be a free agent over the summer. He spent most of his career in Carolina, with the last two in Pittsburgh.

Childhood and High school

Williams grew up in Wynne, Arkansas where he played high school football. As a freshman he ran for 1,044 yards, and missed much of his sophomore season with an injury.  He rushed for 2,204 yards in his senior season, along with 34 touchdowns. That year he had 939 yards in the playoffs, and 302 in one game. He averaged 10.4 yards per carry in his senior season. He was rated as the No. 25 running back prospect in the nation.

High school highlights

College

Williams played for Memphis in college and started 10 games as a true freshman.  He has 129 yards on 12 carries in his first college game.  He had an 86-yard scoring run during his freshman year. As a freshman he ran for 684 yards.  As a sophomore he led the nation in all purpose yardage with 1,814 yards. He did all that while missing two games.   In both his junior and senior seasons he ran for more than 1,950 yards but did not crack 2,000.  For his college career he has 6,026 yards rushing and 723 yards receiving, and a total of 49 touchdowns. In his senior season he was named an All-American.

College highlights

NFL Draft

At  five-foot-nine inches tall, there was concern about Williams size. He erased those questions with strong performances at the Senior Bowl and at the Combine. He had a 40 time of 4.4, and a broad jump of 10-feet, 9 inches.  He had a 34-inch vertical jump and was impressive at the short shuttle, long shuttle and three-cone drill. There were a lot of good running backs in this class. Williams was chosen by the Carolina Panthers with the 27th overall pick in the first round in 2006.

Carolina Panthers

Williams played nine seasons for the Carolina Panthers, and holds many franchise records even though he was often splitting time. In his rookie season as well as the second season, he was a backup, but still got a lot of carries.  Williams started for the 2009 season, but still had to split carries with other backs.  His Panther franchise records include career rushing yards, 6,699, touchdowns, 46, longest run from scrimmage, 77 yards, and most yards rushing in a season at 1,515.  After seeing his time cut because of other players being signed, and some injury issues, Williams was released in March of 2015.

Pro highlights

Pittsburgh Steelers

Williams signed a contract with the Steelers for two years in 2015, which was worth $4 million. $1.1 million of that was guaranteed and 1.1 was salary. Williams started at times over the two years but was also a backup at times. In his first year in Pittsburg he rushed for 907 yards and had 367 receiving. He accounted for 11 touchdowns. In 2016 he ran for 343 yards and had 118 yards receiving, and accounted for six touchdowns.

Personal Life

Williams' mother, Sandra Hill, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and passed away in 2014. Four of his aunts also had cancer. Williams has become involved with the fight against cancer. 

Twitter handle: @deAngeloRB