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NFL Draft defensive lineman overview: USC’s Leonard Williams goes from late-bloomer to prized prospect

Pre-draft position overviews: QB | RBWR| TE | OLB | CB

In football, it’s often the biggest and strongest that dominate. But Leonard Williams – the top defensive line prospect in this year’s NFL Draft – actually recalls a time when he was too big to play football.

As a child growing up in California, Williams always exceeded the weight limitations for the Pop Warner leagues. So, he didn’t get a chance to play football until he got to high school.

“As a kid it made me really sad because that’s a lot of boys’ dream to play football,” the eventual Southern California product said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.