 He earned NSCAA/adidas Youth All-America honors in 2006 and 2007, and was named to the 2007 PARADE High School All-America squad.Williams enrolled at the University of North Carolina in January 2008, and subsequently played one year of college soccer for the Tar Heels, before leaving school a year early to attempt to secure a professional contract in Europe.Despite performing well on trial with teams such as Vfl Wolfsburg, Williams was unable to secure a contract, and returned to the United States in 2009.