Brock Williams (born August 11, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the third round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. Williams was also a member of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Early years

Williams was born on August 11, 1979, in

Hammond, Louisiana Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, and 21 ...

. He was one of five children and his brother John Williams, Jr. played at Southern. Williams attended Hammond High School where as a junior he recorded 55 tackles and five interceptions in 1995. As a senior in 1997 he had 102 tackles and 15 pass deflections. He was named to the Super Southern 100 by the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' and a third-team pick on the All-South team by Fox Sports South. The coaches in the Louisiana area also chose Williams as district

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

after he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and returned kicks.

College career

Williams attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and majored in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. As a freshman in 1997, he played in eight games making 97 appearances on special teams. For the first time in his college career he played

against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He broke into the starting lineup against Purdue in week four and played in all 12 of the Irish's games. He had eight tackles against Stanford, six against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and seven against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. After not playing in 1999 as a junior, he was named the Irish's starting left cornerback in 2000. He led defenders in playing time during 2000 and played in all 13 games which included the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game against Oregon State. Williams made three tackles against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, eight tackles against Michigan State and had seven tackles against Stanford, a game in which he recorded his first sack.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Williams was drafted by the

in the third round of the

. As a rookie, Williams tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after being active for only one game but not playing. In 2002, Williams was hampered by an

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

injury throughout the offseason and was eventually released on September 1, 2002. On September 3, 2002, Williams was re-signed to the Patriots

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

before being released on October 22.

First stint with Raiders

On October 24, 2002, Williams was signed to the

practice squad. But after suffering a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury, Williams was released from the practice squad on November 19. He was re-signed by the Raiders during the 2003 offseason. On August 28, 2003, Williams was once again released by the Raiders.

Chicago Bears

Shortly after his release, Williams signed with the

. In 2003, he played in 10 games for the Bears. Williams was released on August 26, 2004.

Second stint with Raiders

Williams was re-signed by the Oakland Raiders on October 20, 2004. He was waived on October 27. He was re-signed to the Raiders active roster on December 21, 2004. After spending the 2005 offseason, Williams was released at the end of training camp on August 29, 2005.

Post football

Williams pawned his Super Bowl ring for $2,600 at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop that is now featured on the TV series '' Pawn Stars'' and never picked it back up. Williams was offered $15,000 to sell the ring but declined. It is listed for sale at the pawn shop for $100,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Brock 1979 births Living people American football cornerbacks Chicago Bears players Hammond High School (Louisiana) alumni Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Louisiana Sportspeople from Hammond, Louisiana