Kasen Williams went from standout at Skyline High School to top recruit at the University of Washington, and for now at least, he’s chasing his NFL dreams in his home town too, participating in the Seahawks’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player.
Williams is one of 38 unsigned players on the field for the Seahawks this weekend, and probably the best known around these parts. Prior to a devastating injury his junior year at Washington, Williams was considered one of the Huskies’ top NFL prospects, but a long recovery, as well as adjusting to a new offense, led to an unproductive senior season for Williams, who went undrafted. Williams reportedly agreed to a deal with Cincinnati after the draft before failing a physical, so now he’s fighting an even tougher battle to continue his career.
“I’ve gone through a lot, but I feel great. I feel ready,” Williams said. “I just want to compete every single day. I’ve worked so hard to get here, and to go through what I went through the last year puts a lot of anger in me, and I just want to use that to my advantage.
“I’d say the best is yet to come. I feel 100 percent, I feel back to myself, but the best is yet to come.”
And while he has a long, long ways to go to make an NFL roster, Williams helped himself out with a productive day Saturday, catching several passes, including a spectacular, leaping grab on the sideline that saw him tip the pass up with one hand, then catch it as he fell to the ground.
“Just competing for the ball,” Williams said of the catch. “At the end of the day, that’s all it is. Every ball in the air I think is mine, and I have to compete to get it. That’s all that was.”
A couple other notes:
—For the second day in a row, third-round pick Tyler Lockett looked like one of the best athletes on the field. He definitely looks like a player with a lot of big-play ability in him.
—RB Demitrius Bronson, who spent time on Seattle’s practice squad last year, was on crutches Saturday.
—S Triston Wade, an undrafted free agent out of Texas-San Antonio, has made a few nice plays in coverage over the past two days.
—WR Douglas McNeil showed good speed to get separation on a long touchdown catch from R.J. Archer.
—If you needed a reminder that rookie minicamp can be a little sloppy, there was a stretch of four consecutive plays with a fumbled exchange, all with Kristjan Sokoli at center. Sokoli, a college defensive lineman who the Seahawks are converting to offense, could very well be a good center down the road, but this was a good reminder that such transitions can take a little time.
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