Jonathan Edward Williams (born August 21, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. 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 ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

and attended

Junius H. Rose High School Junius H. Rose High School (known colloquially as J.H. Rose, Rose High or simply Rose) is a public high school in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Pitt County Schools district. History J.H. Rose High School was e ...

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

. He has also been a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, Calgary Stampeders and

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

Early years

Williams played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the

Rampants. He helped the Rampants complete back-to-back 16-0 seasons, winning the Class 4A State Championships both years as a junior and senior. He earned all-conference and all-area honors in 2005 and 2006 and was a third-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

selection as a senior by EA Sports.

College career

Williams played for the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division ...

from 2007 to 2010. He finished his college career with 1,415 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Williams was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on July 28, 2011 after going undrafted in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual 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 Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He was released by the Bengals on August 23, 2011.

Calgary Stampeders

Williams signed with the Calgary Stampeders on June 23, 2013. He was released by the Stampeders on October 2, 2013.

Ottawa Redblacks

Williams was signed to the Ottawa Redblacks' practice roster on September 15, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on September 25, 2014. He was named CFL Offensive Player of the Week for Week 15 of the

2014 CFL season Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

for recording 180 rushing yards, two rushing TDs and two receptions for 49 yards. Williams became a free agent after the 2014 season.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsNFL Draft ScoutOttawa Redblacks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jonathan 1988 births American football running backs Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football running backs East Carolina Pirates football players Living people Ottawa Redblacks players People from Smithfield, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people