Did not play football until junior college, but OSU's staff loved his athleticism and recruited him to Stillwater ... He rewarded their efforts with two strong seasons as a starter .... Led the 2012 Cowboys with 75 tackles ... Honorable mention All-Big 12 in 2011 ... Academic All-Big 12 pick in 2012.

2012 (Senior): Reached double figures in tackles three times in 2012 with a career-best 15 stops at Arizona, 12 at Kansas State and 10 at Baylor ... Also forced a fumble against the Bears ... Had nine stops against TCU and six at Kansas ... Did not play against Louisiana due to a minor injury and had just one tackle in brief action in OSU's 84-0 win over Savannah State ... Had quarterback sacks at Kansas and against TCU ... Had five tackles at Oklahoma and four in the win over West Virginia ... Had two tackles in the bowl win.

2011 (Junior): Finished the season with 90 tackles to rank second on the team, No. 16 in the Big 12 and tops among Cowboy linebackers ... Set a career high with 13 tackles in the Kansas State win, including two behind the line of scrimmage ... Closed the season with a 12-tackle effort in the Fiesta Bowl win over Stanford ... Had 10 tackles at Iowa State, along with a fumble recovery and his first career interception ... Against Oklahoma he had nine tackles, a quarterback sack and he caused a fumble that Jamie Blatnick returned 59 yards to set up a TD for the Cowboys ... Recorded nine solo tackles against Baylor ... Recovered a fumble against Louisiana.

Junior College: Played his first football at Blinn after attending an open tryout ... Had 73 tackles as a sophomore with 10 for loss and 2.5 sacks ... Had 41 tackles as a freshman ... Second team all-conference selection ... Also recruited by TCU, South Alabama, Kansas State and Utah ... Rated by Rivals as the No. 31 junior college prospect in the country ... Academic standout.

High School: Did not play high school football, but was a standout baseball player who touched 91 mph on the radar gun as a submarine sidearm pitcher ... Wrestled and played rugby as well, collecting team MVP honors on a state title-winning rugby squad ... Member of the leadership council.

Personal: William Alexander Elkins was born Aug. 27, 1990, in High Point, N.C. ... Son of Laura Adamson and Tim McCrory ... Education major.