Mustang Daily Staff Report
sports@mustangdaily.net
He grew up a fan of the silver and black, but now former Cal Poly running back Deonte Williams will get a chance to don that iconic jersey after signing with the Oakland Raiders shortly after the conclusion of the 2013 NFL draft on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/PrizeRep_Tae/status/328297684869996544
Williams averaged more than 125 yards rushing per game for the Mustangs in 2012 and helped Cal Poly qualify for a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth. In total, he ran for 1,506 yards on 231 attempts with 12 touchdowns, earning second-team All-American honors from The Associated Press.
Williams was training in Southern California leading up to the draft and hoped to be taken in one of the late rounds. However, that hope diminished as few running backs were taken on Thursday and Friday, leaving more highly rated prospects available late into the final day.
The beginning of his NFL journey surely means a lot to Williams, who grew up in a tough area of Sacramento and was described as the “man of the house” by his mother who raised him and his younger sisters on her own. Williams is not guaranteed a spot on the Raiders’ final roster, but he will have a chance to impress coaches in training camp in hopes of making the final cut. Oakland had seven running backs on its roster in 2012-13, including starter Darren McFadden, and the team drafted running back Latavius Murray out of Central Florida in the sixth round.
Former Cal Poly cornerback Asa Jackson, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in February, tweeted his support to Williams. The two played Pop Warner football together in Sacramento and remained close after Jackson left school for the NFL in 2012.
Man…. S/O to my boy @PrizeRep_Tae. Y'all don't understand how proud I am of this man. From pop Warner we been homies n now we both here
— Asa Jackson (@WSB_916) April 28, 2013
We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available.
J.J. Jenkins contributed to this report.