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Then he was waived prior to the Nov. 27 game at Baltimore when the Bengals activated Cedric Peerman from Injured Reserve and added long snapper Tyler Ott. Two days later, the team re-signed Williams, and five days later Dec. 4 against Philadelphia he made his NFL debut.
Williams sat down to talk about his debut, his father’s footsteps and his New Year’s Eve plans for this week’s Cincinnati Bengals High 5:
Q: What were your emotions two weeks ago when you made your NFL debut?
A: Nervous, man. I was anxious, nervous, whatever you want to call it. I hadn't played a game since the preseason. I knew how hard I had prepared, but to finally get to put on those pads and those stripes and run out there with my teammates, man, there was nothing like that. Once I got the first play out of the way, boom. OK, now it's football. To go out there and have a successful game like I did in my first game, it was a great feeling. I don't think any feeling right now could top that. It was crazy, too, because Dec. 4 was my girlfriend's (Ashlee Crockrell) birthday. To have a half sack that day on her birthday, it was a good present for her.
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Q: With your dad (Ronald Williams) starring as a running back at Clemson, how big of a role did that play in you going there?
A: He wanted me to explore my options, but I already knew where I wanted to go. That was my dream school. Watching video of his games when I was little, him running down the hill, him running the ball at Death Valley, that's where I wanted to be. And that was the first school that offered me at the end of my sophomore year in high school, and I took it. It was a no-brainer. My house is literally like 10 minutes from the university and I was a momma's boy who wanted to stay home.
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Q: As a running back I'm sure he was fast. Do you remember the first time you beat him in a race?
A: I never raced him. We always wrestled. But I think the traits I got from him are probably his quick feet and acceleration. I took that from him, just in a bigger body. I was probably about 12 the first time I got the better of him in wrestling.
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Q: You had a chance to sign with New Orleans at the end of last year and go on their 53-man roster. What made you stay in Cincinnati on the practice squad?
A: I didn't want to throw away anything long term for something short term just for a little money. A lot of people outside of this locker room told me I should have taken the money and you wouldn't have been playing. But how could I not stay? Cincinnati was the only team that gave me an opportunity. For the Brown family, Marvin (Lewis), Paully (Guenether, defensive coordinator), they all saw something in me that other teams didn't, so I wasn't going to throw that away for no quick change. And at that time I didn't know if (Saints head coach Sean Payton) was going to be fired. And the defensive coordinator (Rob Ryan) did end up getting fired. So if they brought in a new head coach and cleaned house, I'm out of a job. So Cincinnati, it's just home. Even this year when they waived me, there's nothing but love here. I wasn't going to throw that away for a little change.
Q: New Year's Eve. Ohio State vs. Clemson in the College Football Playoff. What are your viewing plans?
A: My family is trying to come in. There's no Ohio State players in here to watch it with, but I've always got Gil (defensive end Wallace Gilberry) and Dre (cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick). They're always hating on Clemson. We're going to see them again in the championship. I'm just going to have fun with my family and watch the first part of the game with them at my house. I'll have a little window of time to watch it with them before curfew. I'll watch the end of it at the hotel.
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