The Story of Edwin Williams

Nate Hampton, Staff Writer

Edwin Williams was a DeMatha alumni who put the DeMatha 2003 football team on his back with the commit to Maryland. The Number 1 offensive lineman out of Maryland chose the Terps over Ohio state, Pittsburgh, and others. Williams was born and raised in Washington D.C, he was very family-oriented, and is religious. His journey to the then-Redskins almost never happened, because basketball used to be his first love.

When he first came to DeMatha, Williams joined the freshman football team, and began to see his potential in the sport. He began to work really hard at his game in his sophomore year, and DeMatha  head football coach Bill McGregor asked Williams to quit basketball in order to concentrate on football full-time. Weighing 255 pounds then, he then put on an additional forty pounds of weight from his junior year to his senior year. By then, he was getting offers from dozens of colleges across the country. Williams ending up choosing and redshirted his freshmen year. He got playing time in his redshirt freshmen year by splitting time with the starter Ryan McDonald. He earned the starting job as a sophomore, and started 39 consecutive games until he graduated with honors. He was a two time Academic All American, and a recipient of the 2008 Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete recognition Award.

Williams says he first got into football because “I was always a big kid, bigger than most people at my age. My dad tried to get me to play Pee Wee football as a kid, but the coaches said I had to play with others much older than me because of my size. I didn’t play again until high school.”

Williams NFL Draft profile rated him as the seventh-ranked out of 91 center prospects for the 2009 NFL draft, and projected him as a sixth-round selection. Williams was not selected in the draft, but was signed immediately afterwards.

Williams played in four games for Washington, including two starts as a right guard, during the 2009 season. Williams was eventually cut by Washington during the 2010 preseason, and subsequently signed by the Chicago Bears. He was elevated to the active roster on September 27, 2010. In Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers, Williams scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone after running back Kahlil Bell fumbled on the goal line. On August 30, 2013, Williams was released from the Bears as part of final roster cuts. Williams is now an offensive line coach for the DeMatha Varsity football team.

Williams is a prime example of the superior quality athletes and men DeMatha produces from its sports program.