Michael "Duke" Williams (born October 15, 1990) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Williams has also played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Early life

Williams attended Hug High School in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, and played high school football for the Hug Hawks. He was a three-sport standout who earned 12 varsity letters in his career in football, basketball and track and field. He played both ways as a quarterback and defensive back, and was the Northern Nevada Player of the Year as a senior and a three-time all-state selection as a safety. Duke was also an accomplished athlete, he competed for the school's

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

team as a jumper and sprinter. He won the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

at the 2009 Northwest Invite, setting a career-best time of 11.34 seconds. He won the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

at the 2009 Fallon Elks Invitational, with a personal-best jump of 15.20 meters, that ranked in the top 10 in the nation that year. He was also a member of the

4 × 100-meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

team that broke the state record with a time of 41.34 seconds. Rated as only a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, his only scholarship offer came from University of Nevada, Reno, which he accepted.

College career

Williams enrolled in the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

, where he played for the

Nevada Wolf Pack football The Nevada Wolf Pack football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NC ...

team from 2009 to 2012. As a true freshman in 2009, playing as a key member on special teams and sparingly, he recorded 28 tackles. In 2010, he started 10 games and played in 13 for the Wolf Pack. He was third on the team with 74 tackles on the year, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. As a junior, he earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career as he was named to the second-team. He started all 13 games, and was third on the team overall with 78 tackles, including five tackles for loss, six pass deflections and an interception. In his senior season, he finished with a career-high 106 tackles, including 5.5 for loss, nine pass deflections, eight pass breakups and an interception. He earned second-team all-conference honors in his last season.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

He was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 105th pick overall, of the

. On May 10, 2013, he signed a four-year contract with the Bills. On November 24, 2014, he recorded his first career

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

on a throw from

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

. On November 12, 2015, he got his first NFL touchdown in a fumble recovery against the Jets. On November 15, 2016, Williams was released by the Bills.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 12, 2016, Williams was signed by the

. He was released on May 1, 2017.

NFL statistics

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Duke 1990 births Living people American football safeties Buffalo Bills players Indianapolis Colts players Nevada Wolf Pack football players Players of American football from Monroe, Louisiana 21st-century African-American sportsmen