UNI Celebrates Black History Month: Xavier Williams
2/22/2020
There are 32 teams in the NFL and every single player and coach on every one of those 32 teams are trying to accomplish one goal. Win a Superbowl and bring home a ring.
Nearly 1,700 players on active NFL rosters battle for 17 weeks during the regular season to see who will earn a trip to the postseason and the opportunity to continue the quest for the circular piece of precious metal and stones.
Every week through the playoffs, teams claw tooth and nail for the chance just to get to the game and most would give just about everything for even the opportunity to raise the Lombardi Trophy over their head or say, “I’m going to Disney World” broadcasted to over 100-million people in their living rooms around the world.
What most people don’t understand how hard it is to accomplish. The secret recipe for a title changes every year, but it always includes tremendous athletes, fantastic leadership and regardless of the talent on your team, luck.
It is hard to do. For example, of the over 40 UNI players that have seen time in the NFL, only three have even been on a team that played in the game. Super Bowl XXXIV MVP and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, ttight end Ryan Hannam on the 2005 Seeahawks and Xavier Williams who was a member of the Super Bowl Winning Chief’s defensive line this season.
“It was electrifying. Most people never get the chance to experience the super bowl, even NFL players.” Williams said. “It was just a crazy environment. There are media members from all over the world and country. Cities that don’t even have NFL teams. It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. You are in Miami, hanging with your teammates and bringing your family there. The whole experience was great.”
Williams just finished his fifth season in the NFL. He came into the league in 2015 as an undrafted free agent for the Arizona Cardinals. He proved himself and earned a two-year deal with Kansas City in 2018. After building a career that includes five NFL seasons, it is hard to believe that he wasn’t sure he had a future in football as late as his junior year.
“It all kind of snuck up on me,” Williams said. “My freshman year wasn’t very productive. My sophomore year, I wasn’t supposed to be the starter, but I went in and just started building up stats. In my junior year, I built a lot of confidence and did some things that set me apart and I realized that maybe there was an opportunity for me to play football in the NFL.”
His junior year coincided in the hire of Bryce Paup as the defensive line coach. What he saw in Williams was a player just beginning to put the pieces together and become a dominant defensive lineman.
“When I got here, he was getting to the point where you get rid of your old habits and building new habits that will make you successful,” Paup said. “He was just figuring that out. He started to listen and believe in what we were telling him and once he started doing that, it snowballed from there. Success breeds success. He worked harder and built on what he had accomplished. It was fun to watch.”
With a junior year finished up that including 12.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and 74 tackles, Williams looked forward to a good senior year on a team that included NFL player Deiondre’ Hall, Makinton Dorleant and future All-Pro Running Back David Johnson.
“Our senior year, we had a lot of talent. Obviously, David was a big part of that, but there were a lot of great players in our senior class,” William said. “When you look at guys like Jake Farley and Mac O’Brien and the underclassmen like Deiondre’ Hall and Makinton Dorleant, there was just a lot of players in that group.”
“We felt like we should have beat them in Fargo the year before, so we wanted to win that game badly. To get them in the way we did and stop their big streak, it was a big deal to us.”Xavier Williams
The year was a success for many reasons, but the thing that stands out is the dominating home win over No. 1 North Dakota State, ending the Bison’s 33-game win streak.
“The best memory of that senior season was beating NDSU,” Williams said. “We felt like we should have beat them in Fargo the year before, so we wanted to win that game badly. To get them in the way we did and stop their big streak, it was a big deal to us.”
The success on the field was only matched by the bond developed off of it.
“We are still very close as a group. We felt really connected,” Williams said. “We had lineman dinner once a week and we just had a good time. When you look at coaches like coach Paup and coach (Jeremiah) Johnson, they put us in a position to compete every game but still gave us a family-friendly environment. It was a pretty special team.”
The Panthers bowed out of the playoffs in the second round with a loss to Valley foe Illinois State, but Williams had put together a resume that was impressive. He had 14.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks to go with 93 total tackles. Outstanding numbers for an interior defensive lineman. He also set the career blocked kick record with seven.
His attention turned to the NFL where he met with teams all over the country. There was one team that stood out during his interview process, Arizona.
“When we were meeting with teams and doing things ahead of the draft, Arizona actually canceled David’s trip and brought me down instead,” Williams said. “They said they already knew enough about him and obviously they drafted him. I really liked their philosophy. I told my agent if I don’t get drafted, I want to go to Arizona. I got called by over 20 teams after the draft, but Arizona was the place.”
He joined third-round pick Johnson in Arizona with the Cardinals. With such a limited number of spots on an NFL roster, it is rare to have college teammates on the same team, especially from an FCS school.
“It was really nice having a friend to lean on a little bit,” Williams said. “A lot of times you get to a new city and you have to figure things out, but it was awesome having David there. We spent a lot of time together over the first year while we adjusted.”
He played in four games his first season and in eight his second, before becoming a key player in 2017 for Arizona. He played in 11 games, starting in one and racking up 20 tackles, a tackle for loss and forcing a fumble.
“I was excited to be part of a team that was competitive for a title and my family was super excited to be able to come to all of my games. It was great to be at home.”Xavier Williams
He entered a contract year and was signed by his hometown team Kansas City.
“The Chiefs came in with a good offer and going home was a huge bonus,” Williams said. “I was excited to be part of a team that was competitive for a title and my family was super excited to be able to come to all of my games. It was great to be at home.”
His first season in KC was the best of his career so far. He played in 16 games, starting in four and racked up 47 tackles, 2.5 sacks two tackles for loss and four QB Hits. He was a key part of Kansas City’s drive to the AFC Championship game, grabbing nine tackles in two playoff games.
In 2019, he was on a similar trend before going down with an ankle injury and being placed on IR on Oct. 9. While he worked to recover from an injury, his team lost two consecutive games before turning around the season and beginning a playoff run. He was devastated by the fact that he couldn’t help his team.
“There is no way around it, it sucked,” Williams said. “It hurt that I couldn’t be there. It was tough that I couldn’t practice. I could go to meetings, but couldn’t put the pads on. I didn’t even feel like I was part of the team. It was really lonely. I was ready to get back on the field.”
He was activated on Christmas day ahead of the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the LA Chargers and was ready for the playoff run. He recorded a pair of tackles in the three postseason games. The Chiefs kept rolling into the playoffs and in the end became just the second UNI player and the first African American Panther to ever play in the super bowl and raise the Lombardi Trophy.
Paup knows what it takes to make it in the NFL and he knows the only way that Williams has done what he has done is through his hard work.
“It is satisfying because you see him reach his goals and you know the work that he put in to get there,” Paup said. “The only people that make it in the NFL are the people that grind. Even the guys that are drafted high, when it comes down to it, it is either put up or get out. You have to prove yourself every day and Xavier has bought into that and it is what is carrying him through.”
The future is uncertain for Williams. His contract is up in Kansas City and he will hit the free-agent market. He isn’t sure what is next, but he knows that there is a lot of opportunities left for him.
“My contract is over in KC, but I want to keep playing ball,” he said. “I want to be part of a team that can compete for a title and a place where I can contribute. It is such a high to play in a super bowl. It was an amazing experience and I want to experience that again. I am going to chase that ring, get back to another Superbowl, take my family again and enjoy my time there.”
“UNI is family to me. I met my fiancé at UNI and I have a really tight connection with my teammates. I keep in contact with a lot of those guys."Xavier Williams
Sunday afternoon, he will be recognized in front of a packed McLeod Center at UNI’s men’s basketball game against Southern Illinois. He is excited to come to a place that has become a second home to him.
“UNI is family to me,” Williams said. “I met my fiancé at UNI and I have a really tight connection with my teammates. I keep in contact with a lot of those guys. There are a lot of people that I know I can call on if I ever need anything. It was an amazing opportunity that I wouldn’t have gotten If I wouldn’t have gone to UNI. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Williams will be recognized during the second half of Sunday’s game. A few tickets remain available at UNIPanthers.com/Tickets.
