Allen-Williams gets his NFL chance: ‘All I asked for is a opportunity’
Five South Carolina Gamecocks participated in this year’s NFL Combine.
Three of them heard their names called during the NFL Draft. The other two earned opportunities with pro teams once the draft was over.
Bryson Allen-Williams earned his shot Sunday, announcing via Twitter that he’ll be part of the Oakland Raiders’ rookie mini-camp.
“All I asked for is a opportunity,” he tweeted.
Fellow Combine participants Deebo Samuel (49ers), Dennis Daley (Panthers) and Rashad Fenton (Chiefs) were taken during the NFL Draft. Zack Bailey (Bucs) earned a free agent opportunity.
Also earning free-agent chances were Keisean Nixon (Raiders) and Blake Camper (Chargers).
Allen-Williams leaves Thursday for Oakland.
“I definitely have just have to go and compete, and my goals are to make an impression to earn a contact,” he told The State.
Allen-Williams, 6-foot-1, 236 pounds, played 49 games at South Carolina over five years. He finished his career with 118 tackles and 6.5 sacks playing mostly along the defensive line in a hybrid rush role.
Allen-Williams was still recovering from an ankle injury and hoped to run a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but he ran a 4.88, the second slowest among linebackers. He did 14 repetitions on the bench press.
He lost nine games in 2017 to a shoulder injury and another four last season to an ankle injury. He returned from the ankle injury to make an appearance, and five tackles, in the Belk Bowl but was not full strength, he said.
After Saturday’s draft concluded, he tweeted: “Asked God to give me what I needed not what I wanted I feel sorry for the teams that gotta feel this pain. ... My story is not over!”
This story was originally published April 28, 2019 at 5:22 PM.