(TE) Bryce Williams 6'6 257 lbs (Turns 24 on 02/24/2017)
2015 REC 58.. Yards 583.. YPC 10.1.. TD 4
2014 REC 18.. Yards 287.. YPC 13.2.. TD 4
2013 REC 20.. Yards 220.. YPC 11.0.. TD 5
( Career: REC 96.. Yards 1,040.. YPC 10.8.. TD 13 )
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1892488/bryce-williams
Built like a basketball power forward, Williams was a firt-team All-American Athletic Conference pick in 2015 and enters the NFL with impressive career numbers: 96 receptions for 1,040 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Williams looked unstoppable in stretches as a senior with five or more catches seven times and his best effort came against Florida, accounting for nine catches in his 58-catch season.
Williams redshirted at Marshall in 2011 before deciding to transfer to East Carolina and walk on before fall camp. He earned a roster spot but did not play that season.
Williams appeared in all 13 games as a sophomore and earned All-Conference USA honorable mention honors with 20 catches for 220 yards and five touchdowns. He followed that up with 18 catches for 237 yards and four touchdown catches while earning second-team all-conference honors in 2014.
Value is as a pass-catcher with his long-striding speed and smooth route-running to attack soft spots in coverage. He moves like a wide receiver and catches the ball well in stride, displaying a good-sized catching radius and aggressive ball-skills to pluck in contested situations.
2/11/2015 - 2015 ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM (COACHES): TE Bryce Williams, East Carolina, Sr Williams a tight end, closed out the season with 58 receptions for 588 yards and four touchdowns.
The Winston-Salem, N.C. native, who accepted an invitation to play in the 2016 Reese's Senior Bowl, started all 12 games and became the first Pirate tight end to earn inclusion on the John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List. He hauled down multiple catches in each game (five or more seven times), with a career-best nine against Florida.
Williams is a tough, scrappy player who can line up inline, in the backfield and out wide, playing like a bigger version of Riley Cooper on the field.
Pros:
At 6-6, Williams understands exactly how to use his body to make catches. He is excellent in the air and can find the ball at its highest point better than most wide receivers. Williams showed up the most versus the vaunted defense of Florida, looking like a man among boys in that game. Williams has great concentration and makes multiple catches with defender draped all over him.
As a result of issues at the quarterback postion last fall, Williams had to learn to find open spots as the play fell apart. He picked up on that quickly, bailing out both ECU quarterbacks on multiple occasions. When catching the ball, Williams is excellent at turning upfield and gaining every additional yard possible.
Cons:
Williams has been criticized for his inability to get physical in the run game. Part of that is due to the type of offense ran by ECU and the other part is mental. While he will never be the road grating extra offensive lineman at tight end, he must give more in the blocking department. Being a hybrid player for most of his first two years on the field, Williams is a bit sloppy with his route running. He needs to work on being more precise with his steps and eliminate head movement that defenders can key on.
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015...to-nfl-prospect-the-journey-of-bryce-williams
For many college athletes, the journey from high school to starring on the college level is a slow climb to the top. With other players, it may involved a change of scenery that allows their natural talent to shine.
East Carolina Pirates tight end
Bryce Williams is not just any player.
The 6-6, 258 pound senior tight end from Winston-Salem, North Carolina took a college route that you rarely ever see while showing off his sheer will to become a success story.
Williams' story started after his high school career ended. He was an all-conference, NDHS Offensive MVP and Winston-Salem Journal All-Northwest (honorable mention) honoree as a senior and junior. He caught 41 passes for 848 yards and seven touchdown in 2010 as a senior.
Months later, he was on the campus of the
Marshall Thundering Herd as an invited walk-on, not as a scholarship player. After making the team, Williams stayed with Marshall for his freshman year, a year that he was redshirted. For the tight end, just making a team was not enough as he also wanted to make an impact.
With a big decision about his future to be made, Williams decided to come back home and play for the program that his parents and older brother attended: East Carolina. Being a walk-on at Marshall meant that he could transfer and immediately play for the Pirates.
So, for the second time in two seasons, the tight end joined an FBS program as a walk-on. He made the team, but was unable to earn any playing time as a redshirt freshman.
After spending a year in the program, Williams broke into the lineup in 2013 and surprised everyone. His sophomore season saw him find playing time as a bit of a fullback/tight end hybrid, earning play in all 13 games with one start. The sophomore made 20 catches for 220 yards and five touchdowns. At the end of the year, Williams was honored as the Pirates' most improved skill player-of-the-year.
2014 saw Williams continue his excellent play with a Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection. The junior made five starts in 13 games played for the record breaking ECU offense. While continuing to play both tight end and fullback. He caught 18 passes for 237 yards, including a catch in ten of the last 11 games of the season.
Making the full time move to tight end for the 2015 season, Williams became the first East Carolina player to be selected to the John Mackey Award Watch List. Williams was was also named to preseason All-American Athletic Conference squads by Phil Steele Magazine (first-team) and Athlon Sports (second-team).
So far, Williams has not disappointed with 53 catches for 549 yards and three touchdowns on the season. His numbers are among the best in the nation at that position. The ability of Williams to put up those numbers despite the extreme uncertainty at quarterback for the Pirates is downright amazing.
Not only has Williams been consistently good all season long, he put forth his best performances versus the toughest of competition. Versus the stingy defense of Florida, Williams caught nine passes for 83 yards. The Gators struggled all night to find a way to stop the 6-6 tight end. Playing against BYU, Williams' ability to dwarf defensive backs was evident with five catches for 87 yards.
Williams has impressed the college football world with his play, but he has also attracted attention from the NFL world. Williams was recently invited to play in the
Senior Bowl, the biggest college football all-star game for potential NFL prospects.
The tight end is currently projecting as a mid-round draft pick and one of the top five tight ends available. From a two-time walk on to an NFL future, the story of Bryce Williams is something to behold.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imwLMD_8MO4
Jim Thomas @jthom1 2m2 minutes ago
