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Former Alabama DL Jesse Williams suffers heart attack, thankful for support: 'Still very hard to kill'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh08/05/25griffin_mcveigh
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Former Alabama defensive lineman Jesse Williams suffered a heart attack, he recently announced on social media. Thankfully, Williams appears to be okay. His post did include some humor in there, as a photo of him on a hospital bed was attached.

“Appreciate the messages,” Williams said on social media. “Just a little heart attack. Still very hard to kill.”

Saying “still very hard to kill” is likely a reference to Williams being a cancer survivor. While playing for the Seattle Seahawks, he was diagnosed with papillary Type 2 cancer, something that required him to get kidney surgery. Some time away from football ultimately turned into retirement.

“When I had cancer, I went into surgery like it was a game day,” Williams said of his battle back in 2013. “I dressed like it was a game day. I had headphones in. I told my parents, the day before, ‘Don’t talk to me. I’m going to treat it like a game. I’m going in there to do what I need to do.’ And 24 hours after that, I didn’t need to think about it no more. I just needed to think about right now is how I needed to move forward.”

Born in Australia, Williams is back home but still involved in football. His X bio says he is a coach at Elite Pacific Sports. Helping people from the Pacific get stateside to play the sport is one of his main goals.

Still rooting for Alabama on social media, fans poured in messages to support Williams. Suffering a heart attack is no joke but based on his words, Williams is going to be okay.

Jesse Williams enjoys successful college career, gets time in NFL

Williams is most well-known for spending his college football playing days in Tuscaloosa. Originally, his college career started at Arizona Western before joining Alabama for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Two national championships are on the resume, playing a key role along the defensive line.

In 26 games played, all of which were starts, Williams recorded 61 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. You will even find a blocked kick on the stat sheet, coming on a field goal attempt in a nonconference game against Florida Atlantic.

For his 2012 season, specifically, Williams was named second-team All-SEC. He parlayed that into being a fifth-round draft pick of the Seahawks, No. 137 overall. Some silverware was won up in the Pacific Northwest too, being a member of the Super Bowl-winning squad back in 2013.