Arizona State Football player Kyle Williams, who was also a standout at Vista Murrieta High School, is among 24 student-athletes that has been awarded a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year. The scholarships, worth $9,000 each, are awarded to up to two student-athletes from each Pac-12 school annually based on their commitment to education, campus and community involvement and demonstrated leadership.
Williams excelled at wide receiver for coach Herm Edwards’ team, catching a pass in 41 consecutive games which is tied for the third-longest streak in Arizona State University history. His 161 career catches put him in seventh place on the university’s career receptions list.
Majoring in biomedical engineering, Williams was also named the recipient of the Kajikawa Award which goes annually to the top student on the football team. Off the field, as an aspiring surgeon, he interned at the Mayo Clinic under the guidance of Dr. Anikar Chhabra, Arizona State University’s team orthopedic surgeon. Williams was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy which recognizes an individual as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. In 2018, he was awarded Academic Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team selection and 2019 Pac-12 academic honor roll choice.
Earlier this year, Williams was also honored at the 39th annual Scholar Athlete Awards Banquet hosted by the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation. As a member of the 2020 senior class, Williams was named a 2020 NFF Chapter Scholar-Athlete for his excellence in academics. With a long history of involvement as a football student-athlete and an engaged member of the community as well as part of the prestigious Barrett, the Honors College, Williams also won the Pat Tillman Outstanding Academic Achievement Award at football’s annual awards program.
Williams, who earned his degree in May, is currently in training camp with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, having signed as an undrafted free agent.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
