Michael Williams was a top defensive end/tight end prospect out of Pickens County High School, Alabama in 2008. After a redshirt year, he found regular playing time for the Crimson Tide on the offensive side, blocking for Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram en route to Alabama's 13th national championship.
As a sophomore, he became a starter and caught his first career touchdown on a 19-yard pass thrown by Marquis Maze out of the Wildcat formation in a 31-7 stomping of the Gators (Urban Meyer's nervous breakdown would soon follow).