Will Brandon Williams’ football fairy tale end in the NFL?

The NFL isn’t interested in Brandon Williams’ fairy tale.

But here it is anyway.

The former Northwestern Trojan, currently preparing for the NFL draft after four years of college football at East Carolina, struggled to get a qualifying SAT score, tore his knee up during a stint at prep school, and had to accept a walk-on spot and ascend the ladder to a scholarship. And yet, he’s still only about a month away from learning his NFL fate.

“It’s been pretty tough on me,” Williams said on Tuesday. “But I made it through and I had great support while trying to make it through.”

Williams credited his mother, DeWilla, his father, Richard Sr., and his brother Richard, Jr., with helping him overcome the emotional hurdles of the last five years.

The first came right out of high school. Williams signed with the Naval Academy after a fine senior season at Northwestern capped by a Shrine Bowl appearance; legendary Trojans coach Jimmy Wallace called Williams “one of the best defensive players we’ve had there in 25 years.”

But Williams’ test score didn’t make the cut at Navy, so he attended Hargrave Military Academy in 2010. Misfortune struck again as he tore his meniscus six games in, and worse yet, was unable to elevate his SAT to the level required by Navy, denying him admission to the prestigious school for a second time.

That left Williams in the lurch late in the recruiting year, college football opportunities rapidly dwindling. He did have offers from Akron, Kansas and a few other FBS schools, but Williams was interested in East Carolina, which continued recruiting him at Hargrave despite his commitment to Navy.

The deal was struck when Williams called ECU assistant coach Marc Yellock back and asked if the school was still interested. ECU took Williams as a preferred walk-on and he contributed immediately as a special teams player. He so impressed the coaching staff that he was offered a scholarship his sophomore year.

Williams’ big break came during his junior season when starting linebacker Kyle Tudor went down with a shoulder injury. Williams stepped in, and Pirates defensive coordinator Rick Smith said he couldn’t justify removing him from the starting 11 when Tudor returned to full health.

“I just had to be ready,” said the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Williams. “I put more time in with film during those weeks when I was starting, just so I could get the feel for the game. I was happy and excited just to get to start in college football.”

Williams finished fourth on the team in tackles (69) in 13 games in 2013, but really took off last fall as a senior. He was second on the team in tackles this season (124 total, 54 solos), and led the Pirate defense in tackles-for-loss (13.5) and was second in sacks (5). He also forced a fumble and returned his only interception 37 yards for a touchdown against Tulsa in late November.

Williams was named the team’s defensive MVP, made second team All-American Athletic Conference, and helped the Pirates climb the national rankings. As a middle linebacker, he had to become more vocal, and did so with ease, earning the team’s Rock Roggeman Heart-of-the-Pirate Award, an honor given to the most inspirational player.

“He just did a great job,” said Smith. “He was quiet leader, led by example (junior) year. And this year, as the season went along, he became more of that vocal leader, everybody respected him. He played absolutely great.”

Williams’ fine senior season made the possibility of reaching the NFL much more real.

He signed with sports agent Mike Celli and trained eight straight weeks at Test Football Academy in New Jersey, all while continuing to work towards graduation in May. Between online courses for ECU and training, Williams didn’t have much spare time before his March 26 pro day workout in front of NFL scouts.

“It’s been okay,” said Williams. “I’ve got good grades right now and I know for sure I’ll have my degree in May, so everything is going how I planned it to go.

In New Jersey, Williams trained with a number of other draft prospects, including his ECU teammate, receiver Justin Hardy. Celli said Williams’ body transformed during the eight weeks.

That “was something that illustrated his hard work,” said Celli, adding with a laugh, “We build machines in New Jersey. His football body right now is an NFL machine.”

Williams felt that he performed well in the Pro Day position drills and in the 20-yard shuttle. His defensive coordinator at ECU would counter that Williams’ best traits aren’t necessarily measurable.

“He actually runs faster in a ballgame than he does with the clock. He’s just a very instinctive football player,” said Smith. “He hardly ever missed a tackle and sometimes he wasn’t supposed to be where he was at and would just make the tackle. That’s instincts. I can’t explain in words what he meant to us.”

Pro day outcomes are often tough to judge, but Celli said he’d received positive feedback from all 32 NFL teams that attended ECU’s event, and that Williams’ commitment to the eight-week training period prior to the Pro Day, “really paid off.”

Getting with the right team will be crucial for Williams.

The likelihood that he gets drafted isn’t terribly high, but that’s not a bad thing. As Smith said, after the fifth round the money isn’t much different, and free agents are able to choose their landing spot based on which teams need help at their position the most, something drafted players obviously can’t do. It’d be great for Williams to get picked, but if he doesn’t, Celli said he’ll be prepared with complete analysis on every NFL team’s linebacker corps and needs.

Will there be a happy ending to the fairy tale? Smith thinks that if Williams can last one season in the NFL, he could make it five or more.

“It’s a business with them,” said Smith. “He’s got to stick with a team so that they can learn what type of young man he is and what type of football player he is.”

Williams said he’s more than willing to do the NFL’s dirty work, should a team be interested in him as a special teams contributor. His first two seasons at ECU, that’s all he did. Special teams head-smashing was just part of the winding path he traversed to this point. Where Williams’ path winds from here, especially after May 2 when the draft ends, is out of his hands.

“God has a plan for everybody,” said Williams. “It’s always been my dream to play in the NFL but if God has another plan, then I’ll go with that plan, whatever he wants me to do.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Will Brandon Williams’ football fairy tale end in the NFL?."