In a transformation hard to imagine six years ago, Cary Williams will arrive at the Ravens' training camp next month as a soft-spoken cornerback whose biggest statements have come on the practice field.
That was not the case in his two seasons at Fordham, where he routinely lashed out at perceived injustices and railed about limited playing time, ultimately talking his way off the team.
In the Ravens' locker room so far this summer, he has rarely spoken and then only in a quiet voice more suitable for church.
The NFL is filled with second-chance stories, but few are more improbable than Williams' escape from the dead-end road he found himself on. This is the moral of a young hothead who nearly squandered his talent and opportunity before finding his way. His circuitous path to the NFL played out in three locations.
South Florida: A precocious young athlete, Williams attended three high schools — in Pembroke Pines, Miami and Hollywood — in four years to satisfy his father, who appeared and then disappeared from his life.
The Bronx, N.Y.: He spent fractious 2003 and 2004 seasons at Fordham fighting with coaches about playing time. He was suspended twice, then kicked off the team.
Topeka, Kan.: When all football doors seemed closed, Washburn University, a Division II school in the country's heartland, offered him a chance to play again. It made the difference to a young man trying to make things right.
Williams has a new sense of self and a better perspective of team than he ever had as he prepares for his third NFL season. He also knows he might never get a better opportunity to play in the NFL than this.
"I was young and immature, and I didn't understand waiting my turn," Williams said about his rocky time at Fordham. "I didn't want to wait my turn. A lot of it had to do with me having an attitude."
When the Ravens open camp at McDaniel College on July 26, Williams and second-year free agent K.J. Gerard will find themselves in the middle of a golden opportunity. Because Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb are coming off major knee surgeries, the team needs to build depth at cornerback quickly. Williams and Gerard were playing behind Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr in passing camps this summer.
Williams, 25, has skills and measurements that teams covet. He is 6 feet 1 and 185 pounds, has a huge wingspan and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. He has the length to cover tall receivers and quickness to stay with the fastest.
"He hasn't been in this system for a great deal of time, and he's still picking up nuances," secondary coach Chuck Pagano said. "I think we're all pleasantly surprised [at how well he's done]. Once he gets this all down and gets it all figured out, his game will really start to blossom."
A seventh-round draft pick in 2008 by Tennessee, Williams was cut three times by the Titans before signing with the Ravens in late November — after Washington suffered his season-ending knee injury.
He was "fearless" on special teams for the Ravens, Pagano said, and showed enough in his brief time with the team to stay on the roster. Williams made significant progress this summer.
"He's taken advantage of the opportunity," Pagano said.
Were it not for Craig Schurig and Keita Malloy, there probably would have been no opportunity to take advantage of. Schurig is in his ninth year as coach at Washburn; Malloy is a former Fordham coach who saw a little of himself in the unruly Williams.
After Williams lost his scholarship at Fordham — and was working for DirecTV in Florida — Malloy stayed in contact and recommended him to Schurig.
"I laid out some things for him as far as his future," Malloy said. "He was pretty much running out of chances. I didn't want to see him waste what I thought was a great talent."
Malloy asked Schurig to take on the troubled player as a personal favor. Schurig welcomed Williams sight unseen, and the cornerback went without knowing what awaited him in Topeka.
"It was a place where I just wanted to get my life together," said Williams, who has a daughter. "It wasn't just football. It was a way for me to rejuvenate my career and rejuvenate my image in a sense because at that point, everybody had a poor image on me. Nobody wanted to take me in, nobody wanted to let the past be the past. I just wanted to make everything right with that."
Williams started by asking to redshirt his first year, even though he could have played right away for the Ichabods. With a pretty good team, Schurig was able to accommodate him.
Then Schurig watched Williams mature over three years. The change was gradual — but dramatic.
"He went from someone who was selfish and in survival mode to being more team-oriented, from more self-centered to team leader," the coach said. "He changed in a very positive way."
Williams dominated at the Division II level. He had 11 interceptions in 23 games for Washburn, even though teams stopped throwing to his side in his senior year. He personally delivered a win over Missouri Southern by returning a kickoff for a touchdown, catching a pass on offense for another, and making a game-ending interception.
"He's got great length in his arms and hands," Schurig said. "He can go up and get the ball wherever it's thrown. He can be out of position and still has the ability to deflect or intercept the ball."
Schurig said Williams appreciates his second chance and has gone back to Topeka to work with his former teammates. Malloy doesn't expect Williams to revert to his headstrong days.
"He doesn't take one day for granted now," Malloy said. "The thing I'm most proud of him is, he's started to talk as a man. He's not that frustrated young Cary Williams I knew leaving Fordham. He's a man, he's a father, and he understands the plight of where he is and how fortunate he is."
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