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Former Penguins pursuing NFL careers
Durden, Williams
tried out for teams
By Steve wilaj
YOUNGSTOWN
Terrell Williams and Kenneth Durden are both chasing an NFL dream, but they’re doing it in slightly different ways.
Seniors for the Youngstown State football team in 2015, the two participated at YSU’s annual Pro Day on March 15. Additionally, they both held private workouts on campus for the Oakland Raiders on Monday and New England Patriots on Tuesday in leading up to the NFL Draft from April 28-30.
Durden — a defensive back and former transfer from South Florida — is signed to an agent (like most pursuing the next level). Williams — a former defensive end for the Penguins who is transitioning to linebacker — is unsigned and chasing down his dream mainly on his own.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been really self-driven and I think that’s really all it takes — self-determination,” said Williams, a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2014.
“You can go to any trainer you want and train, but at the end of the day, you have to have that drive to want to succeed. So I’ve just been putting my best foot forward.”
Williams — a 6-foot-1, 242-pounder who notched 81/2 sacks in 2014 before just 11/2 last season — helped his stock significantly when he ran his Pro Day 40-yard-dash in an impressive 4.62 seconds. He also notched 31 bench-press reps of 225 pounds before recording a 361/2-inch vertical.
After the 2015 season ended, he began training on his own — practicing the combine drills by himself — while, for a period, he trained three days a week at Joel Younkins Training facility in Mineral Ridge.
“I feel like that helped me too,” said Williams, a McKeesport, Pa., native who is still taking classes at YSU. “But I really didn’t have the access to pay a lot of money to leave the state and train or anything like that. So I basically just have to do it on my own — it makes it a better feel that I’ve had to get it that way.”
Best case scenario, Williams will be a late-round draft selection. However, his Pro Day performance reportedly did wonders in displaying his potential as an outside linebacker and he may very well catch on as an undrafted free agent.
“I’m very excited about the end of this month,” Williams said. “As a kid, you see it and dream about it, but now it’s to the point that you really have the opportunity to play. So it’s just really exciting.”
Meanwhile, Durden’s draft stock is likely in the same scenario as Williams’ — although his status of being signed to an agent has its advantages as far as shopping his brand.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder is coming off a strong 2015 campaign (his lone active season with YSU), as he started all 11 games and was the top corner for a Penguins secondary that statistically ranked near the top of the FCS.
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity to workout for NFL teams,” Durden said of this week’s private workouts. “I’ll just see if any team picks me, and if I get my chance, I’ll just go out there and show them what I can do.”
Durden was a starter at USF in 2013 before being arrested for felony marijuana possession in January 2014. The Bulls then suspended him indefinitely and he opted to transfer to YSU, although he had to sit out the 2014 season when USF didn’t approve the transfer.
At YSU’s Pro Day, he ran a 4.42-second 40-yard-dash and recorded a 391/2-feet vertical jump. It followed an offseason training schedule of sometimes three workouts per day. He returned to his hometown of Valdosta, Ga., following Tuesday’s workout with New England, where he’ll wait for the all-important call.
“I’ll be there with my family for the draft,” Durden said. “But I’m just going to keep working out and maintaining and staying in shape and doing everything right.”