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Demetrius Terrell Williams (born March 28, 1983) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
wide receiver. He was drafted by the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
in the fourth round of the
2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...
. He played college football at
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
.


Early years

Williams was a SuperPrep All-American and was also a unanimous ''
Long Beach Press-Telegram The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Ly ...
'' Best in the West selection. He accumulated 34 catches for 829 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior year, in addition to returning one punt into the
end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
. He played his
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 ...
at perennial national powerhouse, De La Salle.


College career

Williams attended the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
and became one of the best receivers in Oregon history. His 162 career receptions tied him for 3rd all time, and his 2,660 yards are 4th all time. Williams' 11 games with 100 or more yards receiving is an Oregon record and his 20 career TD catches are good for 4th all time. He majored in Sociology.


Professional career


Baltimore Ravens

After initially being projected as a second round pick, Williams slipped to the 4th round and was the 111th selection in the draft, where he was picked by the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. After a strong training camp and an impressive pre-season, Williams became the slot receiver for the Ravens. During the 2006 season, Williams caught 22 balls for 396 yards (18.0 avg) and 2 touchdowns. His highlight came in Week 14 against the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
where he caught a 77-yard pass for a touchdown from
Kyle Boller Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. After playing college football for California, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the R ...
that sealed the game and the win for the Ravens. He also was a huge part of the (at the time) franchise record comeback win over the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
, where he caught 4 passes for 75 yards to help the Ravens overcome a 26-17 deficit and win the game 27-26. He finished the season with the (at that time) franchise best 18 yards per catch average for a Ravens rookie. Coming into the 2007 season, he was expected to take a huge leap forward as the Ravens "deep threat" receiver, and looked to fulfill that promise with 18 receptions for 267 yards, before being eventually derailed by injury and put on IR after Week 9. He attempted to make a comeback in the 2008 season, once again looking to become the Ravens' big play-maker and stretch the field. After shaking off a little rust, he began to heat up near mid-season with a few big catches, including a 70 touchdown reception against the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
in Week 7. However, he was also unable to continue after that play, with pain from bone spurs in his leg that eventually put him on IR for the season, once again, after surgery. The Ravens didn't draft any big receivers in the 2009 off-season, with general manager
Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight ...
stating that they had faith in the receivers they had, and that they were sticking with Williams as their field stretching player. Unfortunately, the injury bug would pop up yet again, this time with only a minor injury during the pre-season, but it was enough to keep him out a game, and give other players time to shine. Though he returned would return, and in the final game of the pre-season posted 4 catches for 77 yards, once again showing his downfield ability, the Ravens ultimately chose to go with Kelley Washington #3 receiver. Due to offensive coordinator
Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...
typically only using three receiver sets, this meant that Demetrius saw little to no playing time for over half the 2009 season. Washington went down with injury in a Week 13 matchup with 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 ...
, and Williams stepped in and made 2 catches for 45 yds. in a 48-3 rout. The following week, he again showed his promise as a playmaker, with 4 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown against 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
. He remained active for the rest of the season, but Washington returned in the following weeks, retaking his #3 spot. Many fans openly wondered at the logic of not playing a speedy receiver like Williams, when the 2009 Ravens ranked near the bottom of the league in yards per catch, and yards after catch. Though he remained with the team and worked hard in the 2010 Ravens off-season programs, he was ultimately cut in August 2010 after the Ravens had signed
Donté Stallworth Donté Lamar Stallworth (born November 10, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in t ...
. Ironically, the Ravens had signed Stallworth to take Williams' former role as deep threat receiver, yet he himself would be inactive for much of the season with an injury. Williams finished his Ravens career with a total of 63 receptions, 1,008 yards, and four touchdowns on a 16.0 yard receiving average.


Cleveland Browns

Demetrius Williams signed with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
on October 26, 2010. He was targeted twice in a loss to his old team (the Ravens) but saw little playing time overall, and ended the season without a reception. He did, however, see playing time on Cleveland's special teams unit. His contract was terminated on September 3, 2011.


Jacksonville Jaguars

Williams was signed by the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
on August 12, 2012 and later released on August 31.


Sacramento Mountain Lions

He played for the
Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and playe ...
of the United Football League for the 2012 season.


References


External links


Just Sports StatsBaltimore Ravens bioCleveland Browns bioJacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Demetrius 1983 births Living people People from Concord, California Players of American football from California American football wide receivers Oregon Ducks football players Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Jacksonville Jaguars players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area De La Salle High School (Concord, California) alumni