William Layton Roaf (born April 18, 1970), nicknamed "Nasty," is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) for 13 seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has bee ...

, where he earned consensus All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

, and played professionally for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

of the NFL. An 11-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection and nine-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

, he was enshrined in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

in 2012 and the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

in 2014.

Early years

Roaf was born in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combin ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Willie Roaf
Retrieved February 15, 2012. He graduated from

Pine Bluff High School Pine Bluff High School (PBHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. It, a part of the Pine Bluff School District, is the largest of three public high schools in the Pine Bluff city limits and four public hi ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Willie Roaf
. Retrieved February 15, 2012. where he played for the Pine Bluff Zebras

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

and basketball teams. He was lightly recruited out of high school, and even considered pursuing basketball instead of football in college. His father, Clifton George Roaf, was a dentist and his mother,

Andree Layton Roaf Andree Layton Roaf (March 31, 1941July 1, 2009) was an Arkansas lawyer and jurist. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and is the mother of former NFL offensive lineman Willie Roaf. Biography Ear ...

, was the first black woman to serve on the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction o ...

."Andree Yvonne Layton Roaf (1941–)"
at ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture'' (retrieved July 1, 2009)."Andree Layton Roaf, first black woman to serve on Arkansas Supreme Court, dies at 68"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

KFSM-TV KFSM-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, serving the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station has studios on South 48th Street i ...

website, July 1, 2009.

College football career

Roaf received an athletic scholarship to attend

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research act ...

, where he had an outstanding career for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.All-American, and was also a finalist in his senior year for the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

for the best offensive lineman in college. Roaf made appearances in the Hula Bowl and the East West Shrine Game.

Professional career

He began his professional football career with the NFL's New Orleans Saints, who drafted him with the eighth pick of the first round in the 1993 draft. The draft pick was acquired from the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

for the rights to

Pat Swilling Patrick Travis Swilling (born October 25, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, and the Oakland Raiders. He had ...

. Roaf played nine seasons for the Saints;Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Willie Roaf
Retrieved February 15, 2012. he was named to seven

s, and won a spot on both the

NFL 1990s All-Decade Team The NFL 1990s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1990s. The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive ...

and the 2000s All-Decade Team, making him the most awarded player in Saints history. Roaf suffered a season-ending injury in 2001 and then was traded to the

in March 2002 for a conditional draft choice. He played four more seasons with the Chiefs, and was selected for the

in each of those four years, for a total of 11 Pro Bowl selections. His election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced on February 4, 2012. Roaf played a pivotal role in the run block on the offense with the most rushing touchdowns back to back seasons in NFL history. #1,4 & 5. On July 28, 2006, Roaf told the ''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and ...

'' that he was retiring from football. General manager

Carl Peterson Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...

said he was holding out hoping that Roaf would reverse his decision, but Roaf said he was "solid" on retirement. In 2009 Roaf took his first coaching job, as the offensive line coach at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. Roaf has been elected to Sports Halls of Fame for Louisiana Tech Athletics (in 2003), Arkansas (in 2007), Louisiana (in 2009), Greater New Orleans (in 2012), and the New Orleans Saints (in 2008). East West Shrine (2018) He was elected to the

on February 4, 2012, in his second year of eligibility. Roaf went into the Saints Ring of Honor (2013) Arkansas Black Hall of Fame along with his mother, a legacy inductee. (2013) Roaf was elected to the

in 2014. Roaf is also in the KC Chiefs Hall of Honor (2011) NFL 100th Anniversary Team Finalist (2019) Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2022)

Personal life

Roaf was born in

and attended

. His father, Clifton Roaf, was a dentist and his mother,

, was the first black woman to serve on the

. Roaf has two sisters and one brother. His sister Phoebe Alison Roaf is the Episcopal Bishop for the Diocese of West Tennessee. Roaf has four children and one step daughter. He is married to Angela Hernandez Roaf.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roaf, Willie 1970 births Living people African-American players of American football All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football offensive tackles College Football Hall of Fame inductees Kansas City Chiefs players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Arkansas Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas African-American Episcopalians American Episcopalians Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople