Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams, one of the most highly-regarded prospects at his position for the 2015 NFL Draft, has been arrested on a DUI charge.
According to NFL Media's Albert Breer and Ian Rapoport, who cited the Leon County (Fla.) jail, Williams was arrested at 3:08 a.m. Friday. The FSU campus in Tallahassee, Fla., is in Leon County.
It's not the first time Williams has been involved in a traffic stop that could be cause for alarm for NFL clubs considering him with a high draft choice. He was also cited with tickets after a traffic accident in October, although the case has drawn far more attention from NFL teams than a typical accident would. The New York Times wrote a scathing investigative report on the case, suggesting that police should have charged Williams with hit-and-run because he fled the scene of an accident on foot.
Williams first drew police attention Friday morning with an illegal left turn out of a McDonald's parking lot. According to a police report cited at tallahassee.com, Williams was driving a rental car on a suspended license, stopped at a green light, and swerved over the centerline before being pulled over. He reportedly refused a field sobriety test and told police that he is a Florida State football player and "just wanted to go home." He also admitted that he had come from a local bar called Recess.
Williams (6-0, 196) has impressive size and athleticism for a cornerback, although his 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.57) was somewhat underwhelming. He improved on that time at FSU's pro day earlier this week, twice clocked at 4.45. Williams is considered an ideal fit for an NFL club looking for a bump-and-run style cover man.
Earlier this week, NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah updated his Top 50 list and rated Williams as the No. 35 overall prospect in the draft, but it's unclear what sort of negative effect the DUI charge might do to Williams' draft stock. The arrest comes at a time when two other top cornerbacks in the draft, UConn's Byron Jones and Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson, are making a move up the rankings.
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