Roy Williams (wide receiver)

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Roy Williams
Date of birth	December 20, 1981
Place of birth	Odessa, TX
Position(s)	Wide Receiver
College	Texas
NFL Draft	2004 / Round 1/ Pick 7
Awards	2003 Cotton Bowl MVP
Statistics	Pro Football Reference NFL.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
2004-Present	Detroit Lions

Roy Williams, Jr. (born December 20, 1981 in Odessa, Texas) is a football player who currently plays wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was selected 7th in the 2004 NFL Draft out of the University of Texas.

A versatile and acclaimed athlete, Williams earned the nickname "The Legend" while in high school.

1 College career
2 Professional career
3 Film career
4 Media comments
5 External links

[edit] College career

Arriving at Austin, Williams and fellow freshmen receivers BJ Johnson and Sloan Thomas were touted as the most talented group of receivers in school history, but Johnson and Thomas spent their careers trying to live up to expectations. Four-year starter who rewrote the Longhorns record books … Biletnikoff semifinalist in 2003 … voted as UT's George "Hook" McCullough MVP as a senior … tabbed as consensus first-team All-Big 12 in his senior season … unanimous first-team All-Big 12 as a sophomore and junior … played in 50 games, including bowls, and started 42 contests during his career … holds UT career records for receptions (241), receiving yards (3,866), TD receptions (36) and 100-yard receiving games (16) ... ranks ninth on the UT all-time scoring list (238 points) … cleared the 4,000-yard mark in all-purpose yards with 4,098, seventh-best in UT history … tied an NCAA record and set a UT record with a string of 47 consecutive games with a reception, while making a catch in 49-of-50 career contests, including bowls … recorded at least four catches in 39 of those contests … averaged 32.3 yards on his 36 career TD catches … had 39 total TDs (fourth-most on UT record) when you include his three career TD runs … had seven career multi-touchdown games, including two in 2003 ... combined with B.J. Johnson to produce four of the top nine receiving seasons by a duo on UT record the past four years … caught 70 passes (No. 2 on UT's single-season list) for 1,079 yards (No. 4 on UT's single-season list) and nine touchdowns (No. 2 on UT's single-season list) in 2003 … had a school-best string of seven consecutive 100-yard receiving games that ended at Rice in 2003.

Roy Williams warms up for a game against Tulane in 2003

[edit] Professional career

During the 2004 NFL Draft, Williams was picked by the Lions with the 7th overall selection, which many draft experts considered a bold move since they had drafted Charles Rogers with the 2nd overall pick just a year earlier. While the pick was bold, it was also widely hailed by draft gurus and fans, as Williams was widely considered to be a top-3 talent, giving the Lions top value. The two receivers, along with rookie running back Kevin Jones, were supposed to provide the foundation of an explosive Lions offense. When Rogers was hurt on the third play of the 2004 season, however, Williams was left to carry the offense, and he performed admirably, catching 54 passes for 817 yards and 8 touchdowns, despite suffering an ankle injury midway through the season that limited his effectiveness, and an errant quarterback in Joey Harrington. The team performed terribly and spent their first round draft pick (10th overall) on yet another receiver, this time USC star Mike Williams.

[edit] Film career

Roy Williams also played a small role in the 2004 sports film Friday Night Lights, playing the role of an assistant coach for the rival football team at Robert E. Lee High School (Midland Lee). His one spoken line in the film is "He ain’t going to play." [1] [2]

[edit] Media comments

On September 12, 2006, Williams declared that "We will win this game. Y’all can take that as a guarantee or whatnot, but we will win this game" regarding an upcoming game between the Lions and the Chicago Bears, who had shut out the Green Bay Packers in a 26-0 victory the previous week.

Williams' comments were widely mocked by the skeptical media, with NFL Network presenter Rich Eisen commenting that the Chicago Bears defense was "the last unit that you need to wind up before a match". Brian Urlacher, the Bears' Pro Bowl linebacker, responded to Williams' remarks by pointing out the fact that the Lions had the opportunity to score forty points during their home opener, but only scored six. The Lions lost the game against the Bears 34-7, with Williams contributing six receptions for 71 yards and no touchdowns.