Before this past April, Sarah Carey-Williams called the Vikings her favorite NFL team. However, shortly after the last pick of this year’s NFL draft was made by New England, she immediately changed her colors.
Sarah, who called Tracy home for seven years as a youth before moving back to Anchorage, AK, is the mother of Aiden Williams, a new member of the Pittsburgh Steeler’s 53man roster, who was picked up as an undrafted free agent.
“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind,” Carey-Williams said. “We’re just super excited for him and the opportunity; it doesn’t happen for very many people. Lots of people are rooting for him. We’ve got phone calls, texts and emails from people also over the U.S., and it’s really exciting to see all of the support has has all over the place. Aidan and I are huge Vikings fans, but I guess that changes now.”
The grandson of two former Tracy residents, Aiden, affectionately known as “The Moose” — he stands 6-foot-5 inches and weighs in at 315 pounds— is taking the next step in his football journey in “Steel Town.”
Aidan was picked up by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent almost immediately following the final day of the April draft. He is the grandson of the late Dave and Margo (Holbrook) Carey, who grew up in Tracy. Dave, an uncle to Tim Rignell, was a gridiron great at Tracy High School and later worked at Homera, and Margo ran a dress shop called Margo’s on 3rd St.
Sarah also has aunts, and cousins who lived or still live in Tracy.
Sarah was surprised at how quickly the Steelers called after the draft. The family assumed if he were to be drafted it wouldn’t happen until the fifth or sixth round. Her husband, Travis watched most of the draft — and all of Day 3 — to see if Aidan’s name was called.
“He got the phone call about 20 seconds after the draft ended,” Sarah said. “It was immediate, so it was almost like he got drafted.”
Aiden, who wears No. 71 for the Steelers, played high school football in Anchorage, and then went on to a successful collegiate career as a tight end. As a sophomore at University of Minnesota-Duluth — the only college to offer him a football scholarship out of high school — he was encouraged by his coach to switch to left tackle, which would give him more playing time.
“He had the size and the intellect for it,” Sarah said. “He was bound and determined to play as much as possible, so he switched.”
As an undrafted free agent, Aiden will have his work cut out for him in his quest for a spot on the Steelers’ 53-man roster. Not only will Williams have to get through mini-camps, he will also have to survive cuts after the preseason. On top of that, he’s switching positions again from tackle to guard. But he’s changed positions before and his mother knows he will continue to work hard to make the Steelers’ roster. His parents said he always has had that kind of work ethic.
“When he was a sophomore at UMD, his coach pulled us aside and told us that if he works hard he could go to the next level,” Sarah said. “Once the coach made that aware to us we were like, ‘Wow, really, could this happen?’ He is a workhorse and doesn’t let anything bother him.”
Sarah added that Aiden now playing in the NFL really hit them when they first saw him in a Steelers jersey during voluntary offseason workouts.
“Now that we’ve actually seen him there, it really hits home,” she said. “You see him wearing this Pittsburgh gear, see him out on the field, it’s like, ‘Wow, this really is happening!’” Aiden isn’t the only lineman with local ties to join Pittsburgh this spring. They also selected Marshall High School graduate Yahya Black, a nose tackle, with the 164th selection in the fifth round of the draft.
The Steelers play the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, in Week 4 on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 8:30 a.m. local time. If Aidan makes the team, you can bet mom and dad will be in the stadium.
“I don’t even care how much it costs, I’m there,” Sarah said. “The week after, the Vikings are playing in London, so I told my husband we might have to stay (overseas) an extra week.”
