David Lamar Williams (born June 10, 1963) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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) and

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 ...

(CFL). Williams was named a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

twice playing

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

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

, and is an inducted member of the

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

as well as the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

. Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Williams attended Serra High School in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 61,027 at the 2020 census, up from 58,829 at the 2010 census. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the ...

. Williams attended

Los Angeles Harbor College Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) is a Public college, public community college in Wilmington, California. It is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay, Los Angeles, South Bay region of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. LAHC s ...

where he was a junior college All-American.

University of Illinois

Career at Illinois

Williams played at Illinois from 1983 to 1985. Under the prolific passing offense of coach Mike White, Williams set many Illinois receiving records, and was a consensus two-time First-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. In Williams' first season, the 1983

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

finished the regular season with a record of 10–1, including a 9–0 mark in

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

games. Williams caught 59 passes for 870 yards, with six

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. As Big Ten champions, the Fighting Illini played

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the 1984

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

. Williams caught 10 passes for 88 yards in a 45–9 loss. In 1984, Williams led all

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. ...

Division I receivers with 101 receptions, 1278 receiving yards, and 9.2 receptions per game. His 101 receptions made Williams the second player in NCAA history to have more than 100 receptions in a season. Williams was a consensus First-team

Williams was again a consensus First-team

in 1985. He caught 85 passes for 1047 yards and had eight touchdown receptions in the regular season. Illinois played

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in the 1985

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

, and Williams caught seven passes for 109 yards, including touchdown catches of 15 and 54 yards, although Illinois lost by the score of 31–29. Williams finished his collegiate career as the second leading receiver in NCAA history. In 1990, Williams was named to Illinois' 25-man All-Century Team, chosen as part of the celebration of 100 years of Illinois football.

Trivia

* Williams is one of three brothers to have played wide receiver at the University of Illinois; along with his brothers Oliver Williams and Steven Williams. * Williams' position coach at Illinois was future NFL head coach

Brad Childress Brad Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 1994 ...

Awards and recognitions

* 1984 First-team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

, the

Walter Camp Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of f ...

, the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', and ''

Football News ''The Football News'', founded in 1939, was a weekly tabloid newspaper covering collegiate and professional football. The publication was designated by the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organizati ...

'' * 1985 First-team All-American by the Associated Press, UPI, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Foundation, and the ''Sporting News'' * 1983 Second-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI * 1984 First-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI * 1985 First-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI * 1984 Illinois Team

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: ...

* 1985 Illinois Team MVP

Illinois records

''As of 2005 Illinois Football Media Guide'' * Most receptions, one game: 16, vs

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, October 12, 1985 * Most receptions, season: 101, 1984 * Most receptions, career: 262 * Most receiving yards, season: 1278, 1984 * Most receiving yards, career: 3392 * Most touchdown receptions, season: 10, 1985 * Most touchdown receptions, career: 24 * Most 100-receiving yard games, season: 6, 1984 & 1985 (shared with

Brandon Lloyd Brandon Matthew Lloyd (born July 5, 1981) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini football, ...

) * Most 100-receiving yard games, career: 16 * Most receptions, bowl game: 10, vs UCLA, 1984 Rose Bowl

NCAA Division I all-time rankings

''As of 2005 NCAA Division I Football Record Book'' * Career receptions per game: 10th, 7.4 * Season receptions per game: 21st, 9.2, 1984 * Career receptions: 21st, 245 * Season receptions: 24th, 101, 1984 Note: the NCAA does not recognize postseason statistics prior to 2002 in the official records.

Illinois statistics

''Including bowl games''

National Football League

Williams was taken in the third round of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

by the

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 ...

, with the 82nd overall selection. He has the rare distinction of being a 3rd round pick who was cut before the season started. Williams would play two seasons in the

, but would never be able to duplicate his collegiate success in the NFL. Williams played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, and would finish his NFL career with 10 catches for 195 yards.

Canadian Football League

Williams played seven seasons in the

. He played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in 1988 and 1989, the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

in 1990, 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 ...

in 1991, the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

in 1991 and 1992 and the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

from 1993 to 1995. He won the

CFL's Outstanding Player Award The George Reed Most Outstanding Player Award is an award given annually to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial ...

in 1988, and played in the classic

76th Grey Cup The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22–21. This was the first Gre ...

game in 1988, scoring one touchdown. He won a Grey Cup title for the Toronto Argonauts in 1991. Williams was inducted into the

in 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David 1963 births Living people All-American college football players American football wide receivers BC Lions players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian football wide receivers Chicago Bears players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Edmonton Elks players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks football players Los Angeles Raiders players Ottawa Rough Riders players Players of American football from Los Angeles Sportspeople from Gardena, California Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players NFL replacement players Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles