Jacquian Williams (born July 20, 1988) 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 ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a n ...

. and was selected by the

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

in the sixth round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

College career

Fort Scott

Williams began his collegiate career at

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a Public college, public community college in Fort Scott, Kansas. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, including Pittsburg, Kansas, Pittsburg and Frontenac, Kansa ...

Fort Scott, Kansas Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,552. It is named for Gen. Winfield Scott. The cit ...

, where he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2007, as a freshman, he recorded 11 tackles for a loss and 60

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

in total. The following season, he recorded a total of 72 tackles, 12 for a loss, one

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 ...

and a forced fumble. After the season, he was named a

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

First–team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was named an All–

Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). As of 2007, the KJCCC was home to more than 3,000 student-athletes in the 19 ...

selection in both of his seasons at Fort Scott.

Recruitment

Following his junior college career, '' Rivals.com'' considered Williams to be a four-star recruit. During his recruitment process, he received scholarship offers from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

, and

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, as well as receiving interest from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. However, on January 21, 2009, Williams committed to

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. Jason Pierre-Paul, Williams's teammate in 2008 in Fort Scott, also signed with South Florida.

South Florida

In his first season for South Florida, Williams spent time at both linebacker and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, appearing in all 13 games. He recorded 28 tackles and one tackle for a loss. He made one start for the Bulls, against the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...

, tallying five tackles and a tackle for a loss. During the 2010 International Bowl against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, Williams made four tackles, helping South Florida win 27–3 in the final edition of the game. The following year, his senior season, Williams was named a team captain for the Bulls as well as a starter at outside linebacker, starting every game for the team. He led the team with 71 tackles and also recorded 11 tackles for a loss, one interception, and 2.5 sacks. Against

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, he recorded a career-high 11 tackles and also recorded seven tackles against both

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Connecticut. Williams finished his career at South Florida with three tackles in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl, which South Florida won 31–26 over the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

. He was named second–team All–

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

after the season. Williams finished his career at South Florida with 231 tackles, eight sacks, 35 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and three interceptions.

Professional career

Williams appeared in the ESPN documentary "The Dotted Line", filmed in the months leading up to the 2011 NFL draft. The program depicted the relationship between Williams and his first agent, Eugene Lee of ETL Associates, as well as Williams's decision to dump ETL after the draft. Williams was selected in the sixth round with the 202nd overall pick by the

in the

, once again re-uniting him with Jason Pierre-Paul, his teammate at Fort Scott Community College and the University of South Florida. According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'', "Williams caught the Giants' attention with his athleticism, speed and untapped potential." On July 29, Williams signed his rookie contract with the Giants. During

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Williams has mainly seen time with third–team defense. In his rookie season, Williams had 78 tackles. He played in all 16 games and made 2 starts. During the NFC Championship game on January 22, 2012 between the Giants and the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, Williams stripped 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams during a punt return and the Giants recovered it in field goal range, which led to the game-winning field goal by

Lawrence Tynes Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born 3 May 1978) is a former professional American football placekicker. After he played soccer for Milton High School, a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Tro ...

and put the Giants in

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, their second

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

in four years.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

South Florida Bulls football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jacquian 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American football linebackers South Florida Bulls football players New York Giants players Fort Scott Greyhounds football players Riverview High School (Riverview, Florida)