Vince Williams

Vincenzo Jerard Williams (born December 27, 1989) is a former American football linebacker.

Williams graduated early from high school and enrolled at Florida State in January 2008.

He was the back-up at middle linebacker, behind upper-classmen Derek Nicholson and Dekoda Watson, and saw action in every game except the win at Miami (FL).

He finished the year with 10 tackles, second among freshmen, behind only Nigel Bradham.

For most of his would-be sophomore season, Williams battled a back injury, though he returned to the practice field over the final month of the regular season.

He was eventually granted a medical redshirt.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2010, Williams earned playing time behind senior Kendall Smith at middle linebacker after enjoying an outstanding spring practice.

In the season-opener against Samford, he posted a season-high five tackles (four solos).

He ended the season with 17 total tackles, while participating in 11 of 14 games.

In his junior season, Williams replaced Smith in the starting line-up at middle linebacker.

He ranked fifth on the team with 54 tackles (30 solo, 24 assisted) and also added five tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception and three pass break-ups.

In the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl win over Notre Dame, Williams recorded five tackles.

He received one of two awards for best attitude on the defense at the team's annual banquet.

Starting all 14 games at middle linebacker in his senior season, Williams helped Florida State's defense lead the nation in yards allowed per play (3.86) and rank second nationally in total defense (254.14 ypg).

He finished fourth on the team with 59 tackles, while recording five or more tackles in seven of his 14 games.

One of his best games came in a road win at Virginia Tech, recording five tackles, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft after his college career at Florida State and played his entire eight-year professional career with the Steelers.

Williams played high school football for Ridge Community High School and was one of the state's top linebackers.

He was teammates with Mike James.

Williams was named Polk County Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and 3A second-team All-State honors as a senior.

He amassed almost 300 tackles with 48 tackles for loss and 25 sacks over three varsity seasons.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Williams was ranked as the No. 10 inside linebacker prospect in his class.

He was also co-MVP of the Scout.com combine in Jacksonville.

Highly recruited, Williams chose Florida State over Louisiana State, Ohio State, and Florida.

Williams ended his college career with a career-high 10 tackles in the 2013 Orange Bowl win over Northern Illinois which included his first sack of the season.

Coming out of Florida State, Williams was projected by analysts to be a sixth or seventh round selection.

He was rated as the ninth best inside linebacker in the 2013 NFL Draft.

He was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but was able to participate in Florida State's annual Pro Day on March 19, 2013.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Williams in the sixth round (206th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Williams was the 22nd linebacker drafted in 2013.

On May 20, 2013, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him to a four-year, $2.23 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $78,680.

After the release of Stevenson Sylvester, Williams was moved up the depth chart as primary backup at left inside linebacker to Larry Foote.

Foote suffered a torn bicep in Week 1 against the Titans, and the Steelers went through multiple starters until Williams started 10 of the last 11 games.

He made his professional regular-season debut in the Steelers' season opener against the Tennessee Titans and played only on special teams.

The following game, he made a season-high seven combined tackles in the Steelers' 10–20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

On September 29, 2013, Williams earned his first career start during a 34–27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and finished with five solo tackles.

On December 15, 2013, he made a season-high six solo tackles during a 30–20 win over the Bengals.

Williams finished his rookie season with a total of 53 combined tackles and 40 solo tackles in 15 games and 11 starts.

The following season, he began as the backup left inside linebacker to rookie Ryan Shazier but was moved to the backup right inside linebacker to Lawrence Timmons a few weeks into the season.

He appeared on a special teams throughout the season and registered his first tackle during a Week 5 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars.