MONMOUTH, Ore. – The path to one's success is very rarely the path that everyone takes on the same road. Some follow the path of a family tradition, others are found on the big stage by scouts and drafted, while others like Tyrell Williams worked the undrafted path to reaching his National Football League dreams.
By now, everyone knows that Williams, a local recruit from Salem, attended Western Oregon University, overcame the odds by falling into the undrafted pool that so many end up in. The difference, he was able to turn around a career that almost didn't start from the first year he arrived on campus in Monmouth.
Sure, the end product is a wide receiver making big plays on Sunday now, but back in 2010, Williams arrived on campus and went through an adjustment period that helped turn his career and life around.
"Once Tyrell arrived on campus and had the chance to show what he could do both on the field and in the weight room, he really displayed the level of talent in which he could showcase," WOU Head Coach Arne Ferguson said. "He was a really hard worker and had an internal belief that he could play at the next level. He was always mature for his age and as he got stronger in the weight room, his production just continued to improve. Having another one of our student-athletes go through the program and reach the next level means a lot to our school, coaching staff and the team, knowing that future generations could also achieve the same results."
Williams ended up redshirting and not being able to play right away led him to nearly transferring from WOU before the advice of Cori Metzgar and her workout regime kept him focused on what was ahead for him.
"When I first got to WOU, I was excited and made good friends that helped me enjoy my first year off of the field," he recalled. "I really hated that I had to redshirt my first year of football and that made me explore transferring, but I ended up sticking it out and finishing what I started. My first year was challenging because I was pretty lazy with school and football, but once Coach Metzgar came, that all changed for me."
Metzgar was hired to a newly formed position of Director of Sports Performance in 2011, right when Williams was set to enter into his redshirt freshman season on the field. He became an immediate threat earning second team All-GNAC honors after hauling in 20 catches for 356 yards and three touchdowns. He went on to earn a trio of All-GNAC first team honors and a Super Region accolade his senior season.
"What really changed the most for me was having the success on the field and I wasn't really working that hard, but was still able to play well. Once Coach Metzgar was hired, she helped me get out of my lazy habits and start to work hard in the weight room and at practice," Williams said. "I started seeing a lot more success and it became easier, so that really made me see if I could keep working that I could possibly have an opportunity to keep playing after college."
The gradual improvements kept happening each season, as each season he not only added more yards, but also touchdowns and receptions over the next three seasons. In 2012, Williams caught 39 passes for 658 yards and four touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he snagged 49 passes for 849 yards and six touchdowns. To conclude his career in 2014, Williams added 56 catches for 950 yards and eight touchdowns. All totaled, he finished his career at WOU with 184 catches for 3,169 yards and 24 touchdowns in 42 games for the Wolves.
"Tyrell Williams was a redshirt freshman when I started as the Director here at WOU, he was skinny, didn't love the weight room and a bit skeptical of me I think. Once he saw what this area could do for him he never looked back. Tyrell went from 180 pounds our first year of training together, to weighing over 205 pounds at pro day. He was quiet, kept his head down, led by example and he was truly a silent assassin," Metzgar said. "Tyrell went through some hard times with injuries, he was usually on an altered workout due to surgeries during our off-seasons, but he never complained, just did what we asked of him. He always trusted myself and the ATC's to get him healthy and ready to be back on the field when summer/fall came. I enjoyed coaching and working with Tyrell, and I'm immensely proud of him, his journey, his kindness, his perseverance and his positive attitude. No one deserves success more than Tyrell Williams."
Being close in proximity to home was also a big help early on for Williams in giving him the chance to see family and friends throughout the season, not only at the games, but when he had breaks during the season in having the time to go see them to keep him focused on staying in school and continuing his dream.
"It was awesome playing close to home having all my family be able to make most of my games and being able to go home and see family all the time was big for me," he said.
After his career wrapped up, he fought through the ropes of trying to breakthrough with a team as an undrafted free agent. First, he signed with the then San Diego Chargers in 2015 following the NFL Draft and later ended up on the practice squad. Towards the end of November of that same season, he moved to the active roster and later made a breakthrough on January 3, 2016 where he not only recorded his first reception, but his first career touchdown that went for 80 yards against the Denver Broncos in the season finale.
Going undrafted kept him focused to prove everyone wrong that he could make it on the big stage.
"Going undrafted really made my career for me. That kept a chip on my shoulder!" Williams said. "I wanted to come in and be the most athletic and the smartest player with X's and O's, so that's all my mindset was. I needed to know the plays and all the schemes and where to lineup so I could play fast and let the coaches see my speed and abilities. I worked very hard in the classroom to understand the plays and the coverages I was going to see and that's what set me apart early in my career."
Knowing that once his chance came around, he was going to have to be ready to make an immediate impact in order to set himself apart. With an injury ahead of him on the roster, that moved him into the starting lineup for the final game of the season that year with the Chargers and helped propel the momentum for him into the next season.
"It was extremely hard to have to just sit and watch and not get to really play or have an effect on the game. But I really tried to stay focused because I never knew when my opportunity was going to come, but I was not going to not be ready when it did so that kept me pretty focused," Williams said. "Malcolm Floyd ended up with a concussion which gave me a chance to play the entire last game of the season that year and I made sure to capitalize. Ending up with me catching my first pass for a touchdown really gave me the momentum that carried me into the next season."
The momentum certainly carried over with 69 receptions for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016 helped establish Williams as one of the top targets around in the league. Entering the 2020 season, as he transitions with the Raiders to Las Vegas, Williams has tallied 197 catches for 3,181 yards and 23 touchdowns. Being able to continue to improve and work on his craft has helped keep him motivated and enjoying what he is doing year in and year out.
"What I really enjoy now is still the same things that got me in the league which is really trying to be the hardest worker I can and doing more than I think others are doing. I really try to give myself the edge and get better every season," Williams said. "I really like giving advice to other undrafted players that come each year and just helping them how a lot of guys helped me when I first got in the league."
His hard work and perseverance have been evident throughout his career, but really showed this past year with the Raiders battling through injuries to still constantly play each week and being productive week in and week out.
"I'm really proud of him. What you don't see sometimes is what these guys go through to just get to the game. I'm not just talking about our players, players in this league period, but when you can play good in this league when you're not 100 percent, that's a great pro football player. Those are the guys that really make a difference and Tyrell has done a good job," Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden said during the 2019 season.
Williams has made sure to always come back to the Willamette Valley and give back with his annual youth camp that is held on the WOU campus on the same McArthur Field that he once built his game on during his playing days.
"Hosting the youth camp is a lot of fun coming back to the area and seeing my coaches and teammates I played college ball with and then also having the kids from the community around is awesome," he said. "That is something I always looked forward to once I got in the league is to be able to bring something that I loved doing when I was a kid and have these kids experience it is something I know they will learn a lot from and have a good time with."
Williams spent last year with the Raiders and has truly enjoyed the chance to play for the organization while also looking to the future of hopefully getting the chance to win a Super Bowl along with making a Pro Bowl.
"Playing for the Raiders is awesome and being around Head Coach Jon Gruden is amazing as he is a great coach and leader, along with being a great man. I have really enjoyed my time with this team," he said. "I really enjoyed making memories with my friends on the team and around the league. I very much want to win a Super Bowl and get selected to the Pro Bowl as those are two things this season I am striving for. But at the end of my career, I want to know I had fun, made great relationships and never took my time of living my dream for granted."
