Dominique Williams (born September 2, 1990) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Wagner College.

Early years

Williams started out his high school football career at

Bridgeton High School Bridgeton High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the city of Bridgeton, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Bridgeton Public S ...

, idolizing former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, and dreaming of following in his footsteps on defense. After starting his first 2 seasons at middle linebacker for Bridgeton High, Williams officially switched to running back his junior year, piling up 2,786 yards over his final 2 seasons. As a senior, he rushed for 1,321 yards on 216 carries (average of 6.2 yards per carry) with a long of 52 yards and eight touchdowns. He spent a year after high school prepping at

Milford Academy Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1916 as Yale Preparatory School. It has been located in New Berlin, New York since 2004. Although founded as a preparatory school, its current focus is as a school for athletes who have th ...

in New Berlin, New York Williams was also a standout in track & field at Bridgeton. In 2007, he got a top-throw of 16.52 meters (54 feet, 2 inches) in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at the South Jersey Invitational. As a senior, he recorded a personal-best time of 8.38 seconds in the 55m hurdles at the 2008

NJSIAA The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

Sectional Meet. He finished first in the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

at the Cape-Atlantic League Championship with a personal-best throw of 52.3 meters (171 feet, 6 inches). He also got personal-bests of 14.94 seconds in the

110m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

and 42.95 meters (140 feet, 9 inches) in the discus at the

State Meet. Williams drew no interest from major universities coming out of high school. However, after transferring to

, he drew interest from many Division I-A and I-AA colleges, with the University of Iowa being one of the main schools. After taking an official visit to Iowa, he was later informed that they were not going to offer him a full scholarship. Then, Wagner College called Williams the next day offering a partial scholarship and his family encouraged him to take the offer from Wagner.

College career

Williams ended his career at Wagner College ranked third all-time in the school's history in both rushing yards (4,435) and scoring (276 points). In 43 career games, he rushed for 42 touchdowns and snared four touchdown catches as a receiver out of the backfield, while also rushing for 100 yards or more on 26 occasions. In addition to finishing fourth on the NEC all-time career rushing list, he was fourth in NEC history in all-purpose yards with 5,444. As a true freshman in 2009, Williams appeared as a starter in eight games, streaking his way for 642 yards and nine touchdowns on 113 attempts (average of 5.7 yards per carry). He also assisted the special teams unit, returning six kickoffs for a gain of 109 yards, and eight punts for a total of 83 yards, finishing the season with 919 all purpose yards. In 2010, Williams suffered a knee injury on the final day of the 2010 preseason training which required surgery and forced him to sit out for his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season. Williams was named one of Wagner's four captains during preseason camp in 2011. He gained a team-leading 1,338 yards on 274 rushing attempts (average of 4.9 yards per carry) while finding the end zone 14 times on the ground. The 1,338 yards rushing ranked sixth on the school’s all-time single-season rushing list. He scored 90 points on 15 touchdowns (14 rushing, one receiving), which tied for sixth on the Seahawks' all-time single-season scoring list. For the season, he ran for 100 or more yards in eight of Wagner’s 11 games, averaging 121.6 yards rushing per game which ranked fourth in the NEC and 11th nationally. He ended the season with four consecutive 100-yard plus rushing days as the Seahawks went 3–1 in those contests. In 2012, Williams led the team in rushing with 1,328 yards on 263 carries (average of 5.0 yards per carry) while scoring 13 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 102.2 yards rushing per game and rushing for over 100 yards in eight of the Seahawks' 13 games. He was third on the team in receiving with 26 catches for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He also ranked first in the team in all-purpose yards with 1,660. He dashed for a career-long 81-yard carry on his way to 122 yards and two touchdowns in the win at

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

. In 2013, Williams became the first three-time captain in Seahawks history, and went on to rush for 1,127 yards. For his senior season efforts, he was named a second-team All-NEC selection.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Minnesota Vikings

Williams signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings on May 10, 2014. In signing with the Vikings, he became the third Seahawk to sign a free agent deal with an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

team in consecutive years. He participated in the team's rookie minicamp, which was held at the Vikings' Winter Park Facility, from May 15–18.

New York Jets

Williams signed a reserve/future contract with 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on January 19, 2016. Williams was waived on September 4, 2016. After clearing waivers, Williams was signed to the team's practice squad two days later. He was released on September 26, 2016.

References

External links

New York Jets bio

Wagner bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dominique Living people American football running backs Minnesota Vikings players Bridgeton High School alumni Players of American football from New Jersey People from Bridgeton, New Jersey 1990 births New York Jets players Wagner Seahawks football players Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey Milford Academy alumni