Running back met with 17 teams at combine Aaron Wilson
Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams met with the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons at the NFL scouting combine, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation.
Williams conducted 17 formal interviews in Indianapolis.
The 5-foot-9, 212-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds, registered a 40-inch vertical leap and bench pressed 225 pounds 19 times.
Williams gained 10 pounds prior to the combine and didn't run as fast as anticipated. He's still regarded as a potential second-round target for lots of NFL teams.
Williams declared for the draft after an NFL advisory committee told him he should go between the first and third rounds.
Williams rushed for 1,655 yards and 21 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman and was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year.
However, last season he dealt with a torn hamstring and missed nearly five games.
He finished fourth on the team with 477 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Now, his left hamstring is on the mend.
“I’m fine, but as far as the strength of it, it’s not as strong as my right one," Williams said. "You know, when you come back from a torn hamstring, it’s not as easy strengthening that to what it was before you hurt it.”
One area Williams wants to improve on is his pass protection as he adjusts to the sophistication of an NFL offense.
“Our pass protection was so simplistic, there are so many other pass protections that I don’t know,” Williams said. "Like, the Giants coach told me they had 25 different pass protections, I’m used to three. So coming into a program like that, that’s what I feel like I would need to work on to get better, so I can basically know how to protect the quarterback.”
Williams was relieved to bust an 84-yard touchdown run against Miami in November when he rushed for 142 yards.
“I was able to show I can still be a home-run threat," Williams said, "to prove that I’m not just a guy who lost it just because of one injury.”
Williams has a knack for hitting the hole and knowing where he should cut.
"My vision, I feel that my vision is the biggest asset to my game," he said. "I feel that what I do extremely well is to keep my eyes forward while my feet are moving and bring able to move as quickly as I make that whole process go."
Williams said it feels like everyone else is running in slow motion when he's on the field.
"Yeah, it's funny because my high school coach was talking about that," Williams said. "How the college game kinda slowed down for me. It's cool that you mentioned that, because those were words right out of my mouth."
Williams thought the timing was right to go pro since the Hokies are committed to rotating their backs.
“I have to be honest, I wanted to be able to play so I could be as highly picked as I wanted to be, and I feel like being in another three-back rotation, I’d probably just keep dropping,” Williams said. “As a running back you’re not getting into the flow as much as you want to, and only getting 5 to 10 carries a game doesn’t really help you that much.
“So a lot of things kind of came into the whole decision, but mainly it was to pursue my dream. This has been my dream since I was 6 years old, the only thing that I ever wanted to do in life, period. I told my mom when I was 8 that I only wanted one job, to play in the NFL, and I only wanted to receive one check, from the NF She laughed and said, “Boy you better stay in school, because I don’t want to hear all that.” But that’s what I told her."
Williams' mother remains a major influence on him.
"The first thing my mother said was that if you don't get good grades, you aren't going anywhere," Williams said. "So if I didn't get good grades, I wouldn't be standing in front of you right now. She was very stern about everything in life, whether it was taking out the trash or playing football.
"I mean, she didn't know nothing about football, but she knows about No. 34 getting to the end zone. Whatever I've done in life, she's been right beside me. She's not just my mother; she's my best friend. She's been there through everything I've ever needed, and that's my life right there."
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