"Dear bullies of my past," Connor Williams wrote in December. "Thank you. No sarcasm intended. No hatred. Certainly, no anger. Just a simple thank you."
Long before Williams was an All-American at Texas and highly regarded NFL Draft pick, he was the victim of constant torment from bullies. He was mocked for stammering and stuttering — part of a speech impediment that prevented him from talking until the age of four — and his size. But as he prepares for the draft after a productive college career, he's looking back with appreciation, not anger or frustration.
"It's not really about the hardship. It's about my family and me rallying around my family," he told HERO Sports. "How we handled the adversity and how it made me become who I am. From day one all the way to college it molded me and it shaped me into the person I am.
"The foundation that I walk on is all because of what my family has made me and poured down the bricks for me to be able to walk on. They're the testament to my success."
Williams, who participated in Hyundai's Rolling With the Rookies program that brings prospects back to their hometowns (video below), joined The Hot Route to talk about that childhood bullying, along with his pre-draft visits and what he'll wear to the draft in Dallas.
