A sad tale we hope won't be forgotten by present and future players. (Photo-Dave Morrison)

What Ever Happened to Eddie Williams?

By: Larry Burton

Eddie Williams was part of Nick Saban’s big 2012 class. He was a very desired safety from my hometown of Panama City Beach. He was the first and only player from Arnold High School to be signed by Alabama and he was destined for stardom.

Had he kept his nose to the grindstone, followed the process and lived up to expectations, he would have left Alabama last season with an NFL contract and be playing on Sundays now.

Instead on a dark night in February 2013 he and two other players chose to mug two students and Eddie’s life at Alabama was over and his freedom was now in jeopardy.

Instead, his guilty plea earned him a five year probation, but it seemed his football days were behind him. What was sure was that after being redshirted in 2012, he would never officially even play one down in a live game in a crimson uniform. His life as a member of the Crimson Tide was now officially over.

Eddie came back to Panama City Beach for a short while, then moved to Greensboro, Florida and later went to Garden City Community College in Kansas and played for the Broncbusters. He played a little linebacker, but mostly safety there last season and they won their championship.

At Garden City he was a standout player, led the team in tackles and was expected to be back for this season, but he is not listed on their roster and no record of him can be found on any other team. Last season he was listed as a redshirt freshman on their roster, so he was maybe the oldest player on their team, but he was certainly a reason they won the Jr. College Championship.

You can see a little of his play on the link below.

http://www.hudl.com/v/26ztRm

On his social media pages, no mention of another team, so perhaps his football career is now officially over. He did win a Jr. College national championship, but that was far from what he could have accomplished by simply adhering to the process in Tuscaloosa.

I saw him play in high school, I saw what he was doing in practices at Alabama. He could have been a star. I hope there are guys on the team who never knew Eddie, who may not have even heard the story of his falling from future stardom to where he is today and says, “That won’t be me.” Should that happen, then at least some good can come from such a sad tale.

The process only works for those who work the process. The cost is high, but so are the paybacks.

Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter

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