Tag: Xavier Williams

Iowa details RB plan vs. Missouri

Who’s carrying the rock against Mizzou?

It will be a different look in the backfield for Iowa (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) against the Missouri Tigers (9-3, 5-3 SEC) in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

Junior running back and Doak Walker Award finalist Kaleb Johnson declared for the 2025 NFL draft and will not be playing against Missouri.

Johnson rushed 240 times for 1,537 rushing yards and caught 22 passes for 188 receiving yards. The Hamilton, Ohio, product set Iowa single-season records in points (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing scores (21).

With all of that production and star power out of the picture, what’s the plan for Iowa against the Tigers?

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the Hawkeyes’ plan at running back against Missouri.

“It’ll be a committee. I don’t know if it’ll be two guys, four guys, but we’ll play the guys we’ve got. We really like the guys we have. We wish Kaleb was with us, but, again, appreciate what he’s done,” Ferentz said.

Without Johnson, Iowa’s two leading rushers coming into the contest are redshirt freshman running back Kamari Moulton and sophomore Jaziun Patterson.

Moulton has carried 70 times for 377 yards with two scores, while Patterson has rushed 54 times for 235 yards with two rushing touchdowns.

“It’s been fun to watch Kamari this year I think really grow and the same thing with Jaz. Both those guys are playing their best football. Kamari a little bit more understandable. He’s a really young guy right now and still maturing physically, but Jaz I think he was where we want him to be this year. So, happy about that,” Ferentz said.

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ferentz and Iowa are excited to see more of what they’ve got in freshmen running backs Xavier Williams and Brevin Doll, too.

Williams and Doll were each three-star signees in the Hawkeyes’ 2024 class. Doll was an in-state signee via Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School, while Williams inked with the Hawkeyes out of Lake Central High School in Indiana.

Doll, a 6-foot, 200 pound back, was ranked as the nation’s No. 33 running back and as the No. 5 player from Iowa per 247Sports. Williams, a 5-foot-10, 230 pound back, was rated as the nation’s No. 59 running back and as the No. 15 player from Indiana per 247Sports.

“We really are enthused about what we’ve seen of Xavier and Brevin Doll. Both those guys have done a really nice job in practice,” Ferentz said of his young backs.

“I think they’ve grown immensely since August. I made that comment a couple weeks ago to our guys. I said, ‘How do you think these guys would do if we put them in a game?’ And everybody gave the same answer. I think we all are seeing it the same way.”

Kickoff for Iowa against Missouri is set for 1:30 p.m. CT with the game to be televised on ESPN.

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Former Alabama WR set to reenter transfer portal

Former Alabama wide receiver Xavier Williams recently re-entered the transfer portal. He spent this past season at Utah State.

After transferring to Utah State in the offseason, former Alabama wide receiver Xavier Williams has reentered the transfer portal. The news was first reported by On3’s Matt Zenitz. Williams had spent the three previous seasons at Alabama.

Williams was a part of the 2018 recruiting class. He was ranked as a four star out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep School. As a member of the Tide, he served as a reserve wide receiver for three seasons. In his fourth season, he was unable to play for medical reasons.

After transferring to Utah State, he played sparingly on the Aggies’ offense. He hauled in one reception for seven receiving yards. It appears Williams will look to play for a third school.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football and the transfer portal.

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Storylines to follow in Alabama’s matchup with Utah State

Here are the top storylines to follow in the Crimson Tide’s season-opening matchup with Utah State.

Alabama football is back, ladies and gentlemen! Week 0 has concluded and we now move on to week one of the college football season.

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and Alabama will not have as easy of a task as most fans would think in their week one matchup against Utah State. Utah State is coming off a special season in 2021 where they won 11 games, including a win over a power five program in their bowl game.

Utah State also returns several key members from their historic 2021 team and will not come into Bryant-Denny Stadium and just hand the Crimson Tide the win.

The Crimson Tide will have their work cut out for them come Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Let’s take a look at a few of the storylines as we enter Week 1 of Alabama’s 2022 football season

Former Alabama WR announces transfer destination

Best of luck to former Crimson Tide WR Xavier Williams!

A former Alabama wide receiver has officially announced his transfer destination.

Xavier Williams, a former four-star recruit from Hollywood, FL, was ranked the No. 24 wide receiver in the 2018 class. He committed to the Crimson Tide in January of 2017 and signed as soon as he was able to.

With the receiving corps at Alabama getting more and more talented, Williams decided it would be best for him to try his luck elsewhere.

He entered the transfer portal in November of 2021. Williams announced his decision via his official Twitter account, and he is heading to Utah State to play Mountain West Conference football.

Williams caught three passes for 24 yards in the 2020 campaign, but he hasn’t had much meaningful playing time since arriving at the Capstone.

All of Alabama Nation should wish Xavier luck in the 2022 college football season as he seeks a starting role with a new squad.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Henry and all other Alabama alumni in the NFL.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Layne Gerbig on Twitter @LayneG_29.

Giants host workouts for three defensive tackles

The New York Giants hosted three defensive tackles for workouts on Tuesday, including a familiar face in Woodrow Hamilton.

On the same day the New York Giants made several key changes to their roster and practice squad, they also hosted three defensive tackles for workouts.

Woodrow Hamilton, Treyvon Hester and Xavier Williams all made the trip to East Rutherford to tryout in front of head coach Joe Judge & Co.

Hamilton, who signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss in 2016, is a somewhat familiar face to the Giants. After starting his career with the Pats, he landed with the New Orleans Saints (2017-2018) before having a brief cup of coffee with new York in 2018.

The 28-year-old Hamilton also had stints with the Carolina Panthers (2019-2020) and Tennessee Titans (2021).

Hester, 29, was a seventh-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2017 NFL draft. After a year with the Raiders, he went on to have stints with the Philadelphia Eagles (2018, 2020), Washington Football Team (2019), Green Bay Packers (2020) and Buffalo Bills (2021).

Williams, 29, was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted rookie out of Northern Iowa in 2015. He spent his first three seasons in Arizona joining the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-2019), New England Patriots (2020) and Cincinnati Bengals (2020). He also briefly returned to Arizona this offseason.

It’s unclear if any of the three were immediately signed to the active roster or practice squad.

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Alabama football: Xavier Williams no longer listed on roster

Xavier Williams is no longer listed on Alabama football roster

Former four-star wide receiver Xavier Williams is no longer listed on the official Alabama football roster.

Williams has been absent from summer workouts and also absent from the first couple of fall practices, but had remained on the roster until just moments ago.

Xavier was heading into his redshirt junior season with the Tide and was set to compete for one of the top four receiver positions this fall.

Last season Williams caught 3 passes for 24 yards while appearing in three games.

As soon as more information is provided, Roll Tide Wire will update you on the situation surrounding Xavier Williams.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

Cardinals activate 2 from COVID list, place DT Xavier Williams on IR

The Cardinals lost one of their veteran defensive linemen for the season.

The Arizona Cardinals made a few roster moves Sunday on their day off of practice. They get two players back from the COVID list. Receiver Ric Gafford and offensive lineman Shaq Calhoun were activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list, which necessitated other roster moves.

In two corresponding moves, they waived undrafted rookie tight end Bruno Labelle with an injury designation and also placed defensive tackle Xavier Williams on injured reserve.

By landing on IR before the season begins, Williams’ season is over. Depending on the severity of the injury (the Cardinals have not disclosed injuries in training camp), we could see him released from IR with an injury settlement at some point.

Gafford and Calhoun were placed on the COVID list July 28.

With their return before the start of the new week of practice, it is possible they will be able to get some playing time in the team’s preseason opener Friday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

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Bengals send D.J. Reader to IR, sign free agent Xavier Williams

The Cincinnati Bengals made roster moves Monday.

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The Cincinnati Bengals made two notable roster moves Monday in response to the season-ending injury suffered by defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

Cincinnati sent Reader to injured reserve and immediately filled his roster spot by signing free agent Xavier Williams.

Reader went down with an injury during Sunday’s loss to Baltimore and was quickly ruled out. It was later reported that it’s a quad injury that will cost him the rest of the season.

Williams is a player the Bengals had in for a visit on October 6 while Reader was still healthy. He was on the New England Patriots roster this summer before getting cut and had previously played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the Bengals just created more depth inside, with Geno Atkins just playing in his first game of the season, the team might not be done seeking out help.

Bengals hosted free-agent DT Xavier Williams on visit

The Cincinnati Bengals hosted a free agent on a visit.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are actively looking into free agents with Mike Daniels sitting on injured reserve.

Per the NFL’s transaction wire, the Bengals had a visit with free-agent defensive tackle Xavier Williams.

Williams, 28, signed with the New England Patriots in August but was a roster cut as the team looked to add depth elsewhere.

Last season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Williams made a playoffs appearance but only played in five regular-season games. He’s played in just one 16-game season since entering the league in 2015 and is considered a strong run-stopper.

The Bengals need help inside with Daniels sitting on injured reserve and Geno Atkins yet to play in a game this season, so a signing wouldn’t come as a shocker.

Williams joins a list of seven other guys we outlined that the Bengals could sign with Daniels hurt.

Bengals hosted free-agent DT Xavier Williams on visit

The Cincinnati Bengals hosted a free agent on a visit.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are actively looking into free agents with Mike Daniels sitting on injured reserve.

Per the NFL’s transaction wire, the Bengals had a visit with free-agent defensive tackle Xavier Williams.

Williams, 28, signed with the New England Patriots in August but was a roster cut as the team looked to add depth elsewhere.

Last season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Williams made a playoffs appearance but only played in five regular-season games. He’s played in just one 16-game season since entering the league in 2015 and is considered a strong run-stopper.

The Bengals need help inside with Daniels sitting on injured reserve and Geno Atkins yet to play in a game this season, so a signing wouldn’t come as a shocker.

Williams joins a list of seven other guys we outlined that the Bengals could sign with Daniels hurt.