
Chris Williamson never thought it would happen to him.
Going pro with a teammate by his side, that is.
The former Gophers cornerback and his college teammate, Carter Coughlin, will both make their way to New York soon as new members of the Giants. The Giants selected Coughlin, a linebacker, 218th overall in the seventh round and Williams 247th overall later in that final round.
"I don't know how often it happens, teammates get drafted the same team," Williamson said. "We're extremely excited. We can't wait to get to New York. Obviously, me and him are going to be together majority of the time. We're probably going to get a apartment together, something like that. I mean, it's also going to make the process from the transition of college football to the NFL much easier because I have somebody that I know that I can go through that with."
Williamson and Coughlin were two of five drafted Gophers, plus another two who agreed to sign undrafted free agent deals. That's a modern-era record for the program that went 11-2 this past season, a record the two helped reach with strong senior seasons. Williamson, at nickel, made 57 tackles and a pick-six while Coughlin made 49 tackles as a rush end, including 4.5 sacks.
"It's just cool to see the some of the fruits of our labor," Coughlin said of being part of a historic draft class. "... We all came to Minnesota with the same goal and started off with that 'empire' class back in 2016. And so it's cool to see that a lot of us are going to get the opportunity to continue playing football, and we'll be able to play against each other in the league."
Coughlin's 2016 recruiting class, self-dubbed as the "empire" class, had three other players drafted. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (45th overall in the second round) and receiver Tyler Johnson (161st overall, fifth round) went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Linebacker Kamal Martin (175th overall, fifth round) is a Green Bay Packer. Williamson transferred to the Gophers from Florida for his final two years of eligibility.
There was a bit of a party in the group chat with such a big haul (running back Rodney Smith and defensive tackle Sam Renner were undrafted free agent pickups to the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, respectively). And Coughlin said he's looking forward to having Williamson as someone for talking through film, learning the playbook and in general being a comfortable face to see around during this new journey.