University of Richmond Athletics
Eric Ward, Seth Williams To Get NFL Shot With Jets, Giants
April 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Former Richmond football players QB Eric Ward and CB Seth Williams will look to continue their playing careers at the professional level as Ward has earned a minicamp tryout with the New York Jets, while Williams has signed a free agent contract with the New York Giants.
The Giants minicamp is this Friday through Sunday and Williams is one of 54 players who will compete, joining 11 from the team's current 80-man roster, the seven taken by the Giants in the NFL Draft, the 13 undrafted free agents and 23 others that earned minicamp invitations on a tryout basis.
Williams is one of three undrafted free agents signees from the FCS level for the Giants, joining Massachusetts WR Victor Cruz and Holy Cross QB Dominic Randolph. William & Mary LB Adrian Tracey was drafted by the Giants in the sixth round.
Williams finished sixth on the team in tackles last season (58), broke up seven passes and made one interception. He finished his career with 245 stops and nine interceptions.
Ward has confirmed his invitation to the Jets minicamp, but the team has yet to officially release its minicamp roster. The team drafted one FCS player - OT Vladimir Ducasse from Massachusetts.
Ward capped one of the winningest careers by a quarterback in FCS history, ending his career with a record of 41-12. He was 17-7 versus Top-25 ranked teams and 7-2 in the Playoffs. Under Ward's watch, the Spiders captured two conference crowns (2007, 2009), made three-consecutive Playoffs appearances and were the 2008 National Champions. Ward finished as the eighth-highest all-time passer in CAA Football history (8,969) and is ranked fifth in total offense (10,375). On the FCS all-time list, Ward's 10,375 yards of total offense ranks 27th.
Current Richmond assistant coach and former Spider QB Stacy Tutt was an undrafted free agent signee by the New York Jets in 2006. He made the roster and played two NFL seasons with the club as a fullback.