Bryan Williams (born September 17, 1987) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He played college football at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

Early life

He was born the son of Sterling Campbell. Bryan attended

Buchtel High School John R. Buchtel Community Learning Center, formerly known as John R. Buchtel High School and often referred to as Buchtel High School or Buchtel CLC, is a public high school in Akron, Ohio, United States, serving grades 7–12. It is one of seve ...

in Akron, Ohio. His football talents were good enough to earn him a 3-Star rating, according to

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

. During his time at Buchtell, he was a three-year starter and also lettered as a freshman. He was named first team All-Ohio Division III running back after rushing for 1,897 yards and 26 touchdowns in 11 games as a senior. As a cornerback, compiled 52 tackles and eight interceptions, returning one for a TD. He compiled 17 career interceptions, and was named the Plain Dealer Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named first team All-Beacon Journal. In four varsity seasons, Williams helped Buchtel to three city championships, three state playoff berths and a 34-11 record (.756). He was named to the PrepStar All-Midwest Region, and was rated one of the top 75 players in the Midwest region by SuperPrep. Rated the No. 30 prospect in Ohio by Rivals.com, as well as a top 60 cornerback. Rated Ohio's No. 32 prospect by Scout.com. He played under Coach Claude Brown, and was also a four-time letterman in track and a member of the Academic Merit Roll.

College career

Valley Forge Military Academy

He originally signed a letter of intent to play football at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, but Williams failed to make it through the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Clearinghouse and attended

Valley Forge Military Academy Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional Military academy, military school format with army traditions. T ...

. He also had offers from Akron, Minnesota, Kansas and Michigan State. After his first year at Valley Forge, he had once again signed to go to Pittsburgh, but was denied again. After he finished his 2nd year, he transferred to his local college, the

Akron

Williams saw extended time as Akron's starting

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 ...

in 2007. Williams was named third team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

both as a running back and return specialist in 2007. Despite being tabbed third team All-MAC as a running back in 2007, he moved to defense (

strong safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free sa ...

) in the spring of 2008. He ranked second in the NCAA in kickoff return average and first in the MAC (31.90). His KOR average was additionally an Akron single-season record and ranked second on the MAC seasonal list (the record is 32.9 by Marshall's James Williams in 1999).

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Williams was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2009, by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

to a 3-year contract, but he lasted only 2 months with the team, before being cut.

Marion Mayhem

After being cut by the Browns, Williams was signed by the

Marion Mayhem The Marion Mayhem were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), later renamed the Continental Indoor Football League (CIF ...

, an indoor football team in the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as ...

. The Mayhem lacked the financial ability to stay alive and folded with 4 games remaining in the 2010 season.

Fort Wayne FireHawks

Williams then signed to finish out the season with the not too distant

Fort Wayne Firehawks The Fort Wayne FireHawks were a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team joined the Continental Indoor Football League as an expansion team during the 2010 season. The FireHawks were the fourth attempt at indoor ...

, as well as a few other Mayhem players, including

Mike Tatum Mike Anthony Tatum (born April 29, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach and offensive coordinator for the Omaha Beef of the National Arena League (NAL). He is former indoor American football wide receiver for the Nebraska Dan ...

. The FireHawks made the CIFL playoffs, and lost in the first round to the Wisconsin Wolfpack. Williams started both games in which he played for the FireHawks.

Marion Blue Racers

In 2011, Williams was again signed by an indoor football team. This time it was the

Marion Blue Racers The Marion Blue Racers were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The Blue Racers began play as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2011, before moving to the United Indoor Football League ( ...

, who were owned and operated by former

Pittsburgh Steeler The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...

LaMonte Coleman. The Blue Racers finished the regular season 8-2. Williams was named the CIFL's Defensive Player of the Week in Week 3. Williams led the league with 9 interceptions. The team would advance to the

CIFL Championship Game The CIFL championship game was the annual championship game of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). In 2006, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. Following the 2007 and 2008 season, the game was between the Great Lakes ...

, only to lose to the undefeated

Cincinnati Commandos The Cincinnati Commandos were a professional indoor football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team suspended operations for the 2013 season, with hope of returning in 2014. They began play in 2010 as an expansion team in the Continental Ind ...

Pittsburgh Power

On July 8, 2011, Bryan Williams signed with the

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team belonged to the East Division (AFL), East Division of the American Conference in the Arena Football League. Founded in 2010, the Power was t ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

.Pittsburgh Power transactions on ArenaFan.com
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Edmonton Eskimos

Williams was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

on June 23, 2013, but was later released that same day. On August 14 he was signed off of the team's practice roster and onto the Eskimos' active roster.

Cleveland Gladiators

On October 24, 2014, Williams was assigned to the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

. He was placed on reassignment on March 30, 2015.

References

External links

Edmonton Eskimos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Bryan 1987 births Living people Akron Zips football players American football defensive backs Edmonton Elks players Fort Wayne FireHawks players Marion Blue Racers players Marion Mayhem players Players of American football from Akron, Ohio Pittsburgh Power players Cleveland Gladiators players Valley Forge Military Academy Trojans football players