Earlier in the evening it was reported that UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin will be making a pre draft visit on Thursday, and now Fox Sports reports that Nevada safety Duke Williams has a visit to Pittsburgh scheduled as well.
Williams, a well put together safety, measured in at the NFL combine last month at 5110 and 203 pounds. He ran a blazing 4.52 forty yard dash and a 4.00 short shuttle to go along with a 37.5 vertical jump and a 10\’06” broad jump. He also did 13 reps on the bench in addition.
Williams, who has shown to be a heavy hitting safety that moves like a cornerback, needs to work on his tackling and his recognition. During his four years at Nevada, he recorded 292 total tackles, had four interceptions, 18 unofficial pass breakups and forced five fumbles.
At times, Williams has been noted as being a bit too physical when covering receivers in the slot, which has led to penalties, but he does show his athleticism well when asked to turn and run.
Williams does have a few character red flags, however. His indiscretions include underage drinking, fighting, possession of stolen property, and driving with an expired license and registration, and driving without insurance. His has missed games due to suspension and has been arrested.
The Steelers will draft a strong safety type at some point during the upcoming draft, and Williams figures to come off the board in the later rounds.
Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Class | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
2009* | FR | 21 | 8 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2010* | SO | 51 | 23 | 74 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 42 | 21.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2011* | JR | 58 | 25 | 83 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
2012* | SR | 68 | 38 | 106 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 51 | 0 | 3 |
Career | 198 | 94 | 292 | 14.5 | 0.0 | 4 | 69 | 17.3 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 58 | 0 | 5 |