Manassas Native Ryan Williams Selected by Arizona Cardinals in NFL Draft

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Arizona Cardinals made Manassas native Ryan Williams their second round pick in this year’s NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall Friday evening.

The Virginia Tech tailback was the 38th overall pick and joins an Arizona backfield that already has last year’s No. 1 pick Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower and LaRod Stephens-Howling.

“I know it’s a crowded backfield, but I will do my best to get on the field and help this team win,” Williams told the Cardinals’ website staff.

A graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School, Williams was one of the most coveted high school running backs in the nation.

He compiled more than 3,000 career-rushing yards in high school and was an All-American by his senior season.

“God has blessed him with great peripheral vision,” said Stonewall Jackson football coach Loren Johnson, who also played at Virginia Tech. “It’s just like, ‘Wow.’ “He’s the type of kid that’ll go the distance unless someone blows his mind.”

By 2009 the nation knew who Williams was at the college level as he broke Kevin Jones’ single-season school record with 1,655 rushing yards.

He left Tech early to pursue the NFL, something he said was a decision he did for himself and his family.

“When they say you have the potential to be a first rounder, that’s something that’s hard to pass up,” he said. “This has been my dream since I was six-years-old and I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”

A student of Walter Payton and a huge fan of the Chicago Bears great, Williams wears No. 34 to honor the legend. Now he’ll get to honor him in the greatest fashion, but flashing moves in the very league Payton helped write history for.

He waited anxiously with friends and family in the green room in New York since Thursday and when he received that humbling call to find out which NFL team will put his name on their jersey, he grew emotional

“This is all I ever wanted to do my whole life,” Williams told the Cardinals' website staff. “Everything just came out. Those were all the emotions since I was 7 or 8 years old when I had it planned out I wanted to be in the NFL.”