“Tom Brady” Prospect: Raymond Williams- 2011 Draft Scouting Report
Tom Brady is famous in draft lore for being drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patriots. He’s not the only prospect who has seen success being drafted, late, but he’s the best one. We’re starting a new Series we’ll call “Tom Brady” Prospect where we look at some of the underrated, under publicized prospects in the draft. The first one was DL Markus White our #1 underrated prospect, following is another one.
A word to the wise: keep a very close eye on Shaw University running back Raymond Williams. Williams is absolutely a no named player; however, he has the physical tools to be an excellent player at the NFL level.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I couldn’t find any game film of Shaw University football. The only game film of Williams that I have seen is this. It’s pretty easy to tell he has excellent speed (he runs a 4.39 40), and he isn’t just one of those scat-backs who are probably to small to take many hits (he is 6’0 tall). However, he could use a fair amount of bulk. I really don’t feel comfortable making assessments of his vision and patience based on a highlight video (a player almost always showcases good vision on any good run), but I will say this: I do feel that he isn’t a one dimensional player. A lot of speed backs at the college level produce good numbers solely because they are so much faster than everybody on the opposing team’s defense; they can turn the corner and outrun everybody to the end zone. But that doesn’t work in the NFL because no player is so fast that the opposing NFL teams will never catch up to him on any run. Every running back has to run the inside a little for success (see: Reggie Bush, and Jahvid Best, who has a 3.2 yards per carry through 15 games, which is the worst in the NFL). At the early part of the video, Williams only runs to the outside, but as the video goes on, he shows the versatility to have some success running to the inside, and I expect more success will come on the inside if he adds 20lbs of bulk.
I haven’t been able to find much on Williams’ numbers at Shaw. All I have been able to find is this. I couldn’t find anything from last year. It makes it even tougher for me to analyze him. Either way, he has been somewhat productive this year, showcasing a strong yards per carry with a decent workload. But he is a pretty poor receiver, even for a DII running back.
Believe it or not, Raymond Williams used to be a big name player. In 2003, he was named Mr. Football in Ohio as the best high school player in the state. He was headed for West Virginia, but he ended up being arrested for a botched robbery attempt in Cleveland. He and 2 other high school football players, Jon Huddleston and Lorenzo Hunter, were trying to rob a known drug dealer named Rodney Roberts with a fake gun. However, Roberts brought out a real gun and he shot and killed Hunter. Williams was charged with involuntary manslaughter for Hunter’s death, but a judge gave him a shockingly generous sentence: 5 years probation. The kind sentence was because the judge said that Williams and Huddleston both seemed “extremely remorseful,” of the crime. But he was told if he violated the probation, he would got to prison for 3 years (which is actually the minimum sentence for involuntary manslaughter. I don’t actually know how the judge was able to give him a sentence lighter than the state minimum). He then enrolled at Toledo, but in 2007 he allegedly tested positive for tested positive marijuana. He tearfully denied his guilt in the court, and there was definitely doubt of the validity of the test, and the article did say he would be tested again. I was not able to find the results of the second test anywhere on the internet, but it appears that nothing came up in his system during the second test. The probation violation was in 2007, and if he had gone to prison for 3 years, then he wouldn’t be a senior at Shaw right now. He’d be 6 months out of prison, and not a senior. However, it appears that he was expelled from Toledo because of the alleged violation of his probation, and that’s how he ended up at Shaw. His character is a true mystery, but there are clearly some issues with his character.
Overall, Williams is as big a mystery man as any player I have ever looked at. He has one fascinating history, a lot of potential, but it has never been harder for me to find information on a player. A fascinating player, and one to watch. And I guarantee you; if he ever he makes whatever team he tries out for this year, he could be a Vick-esque story of redemption.
NFL Comparison: Chris Ivory. A microscopic school guy, dismissed from a decent size school, ended up in a tiny school (in his case Tiffin), has a lot of physical tools (221 pounds with a 4.49 40 yard dash). A lot of resemblance, and Chris Ivory turned out great for the Saints (5.2 yards per carry, led the team in rushing). Don’t be surprised to see something similar from Williams.
Grade: 20 (borderline draftable)
Projection: 10 (not considered a legitimate prospect). In fact, if there were 700 picks in the NFL draft, he still might not get drafted. That’s how much of a nobody he is.