Trey Williams knows it's an uphill battle to seize a spot on the active roster, but the rookie running back's confident his play during the preseason will do enough talking.
The odds may be heavily against his favor to make the final 53-man roster, at least most would think, but Washington Redskins running back Trey Williams has the confidence needed to jump up the depth chart.
"I'm going to make them believe," he told Redskins.com. "They're going to believe in me by the end of this camp. You'll see in preseason. I can only do what they give me right now, but I'm giving it my all and getting better with each practice."
Williams was part of the Redskins' first crop of college free agents picked up after the draft and is definitely the quickest.
Williams ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine after a three-year career at Texas A&M.
As an Aggie, Williams -- who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 195 pounds -- rushed for 1,343 yards on 204 career carries (6.6 avg.) with 18 touchdowns in 36 games.
He also recorded 38 receptions for 330 yards and a touchdown.
During one of the first practices of training camp, Williams participated in a 1-on-1 drill in which the offensive and defensive players stand about 10 yards apart while the ball is rolled from one side to the other.
Williams – lined up against safety Duke Ihenacho – had perhaps the shiftiest moves of anyone in the drill, a testament to his style of play.
"I'm more of a Darren Sproles I'd say," Williams said when asked to describe his game. "I mimic myself as being a Darren Sproles type back. That's a guy I look up to as far as running and Barry Sanders. I try to take little notes on things that they do and use them to my advantage. That's the kind of back that I am. You can use me. I'm a very versatile back, and I'm real, real, real, real quick."
Individual drills are important for Williams, as it's his best chance to show what he can do before the preseason games start.
"I'm not getting that many reps, but I'm trying to make them count," he said. "I guess it's like that for an undrafted free agent. But for the most part, I'm out here giving it my all and that's all I can do."
One of the players Williams is battling with for a roster spot is Silas Redd Jr., a player who went through a similar process last season.
Undrafted out of USC, Redd Jr. was locked in a heated battle with Chris Thompson, Evan Royster and Lache Seastrunk for the team's third-back role, which he nabbed after a solid preseason showing.
"I'll never forget the day that I made the 53-man roster," Redd Jr. told USCTrojans.com. "There had been two cuts prior to that day and each cut I remember being so anxious because despite leaving everything out there on the field you just never know what the coaches are thinking. When you walk into our building you go through the front doors and go downstairs to the locker room, but for some guys they stop you to tell you that you didn't make the cut. It was so nerve-racking walking into the building but I just kept walking almost waiting for someone to say my name but no one ever did so I just kept walking - that was the moment when I realized I had made it and had survived the first step necessary to accomplish my dream of playing in the NFL."
Williams said he's talked to Redd Jr. a little bit about his journey, but knows that his situation is different.
"We are all different and I have my standards," he said. "But for the most part, I can only do what I can. I can't focus on the past, but am on the future and that's going as hard as I can to give it my all."
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