Matt Williams (born in

Weatherford, Texas Weatherford () is a city in and the county seat of Parker County, Texas, United States. In 2020, its population was 30,854. Weatherford is named after Thomas J. Weatherford, a State senator and advocate for Texas's secession to the Confederate ...

) is a former walk-on

place kicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist. The term derives fro ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders football The Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University (variously "TTU"). The Red Raiders competes as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (for ...

team. Williams was offered the position, two other players having failed to succeed for the team at that point, after winning a year's worth of free rent in a place-kicking contest at one of the Red Raiders games.

Early years

Williams attended Weatherford High School in

, where he played soccer and football. In football, he played both wide receiver and kicker. His signature moment as a kicker occurred when he kicked a 49-yard field goal through the uprights to defeat rival Mineral Wells High School in overtime. He graduated from Weatherford in 2006.

College career

Tarleton State

Williams walked on to the

Tarleton State Texans football The Tarleton State Texans football program, also known as the Tarleton Texans, is the intercollegiate American football team for Tarleton State University located in the U.S. state of Texas. Through the 2019 season, the team competed in NCAA Di ...

team, though was only on the team for a month and never played a game.

Texas Tech

After two years at Tarleton State, Williams transferred to

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

. During halftime of Tech's September 20, 2008, football game against the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

, Williams entered a promotional contest in which he made a 30-yard field goal. He caught the attention of head coach Mike Leach, who liked the fundamentals he used on the kick. Leach wanted him on the team, and although it was initially thought he would not be immediately eligible, 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. ...

granted a one-time exception based on the specific circumstances. He was allowed to play immediately as he had not been recruited by Tarleton State and also because he was never a scholarship player. However, the season he played on Tarleton State's squad counted toward his eligibility, making him a sophomore during his first year at Tech. He also had to reject the free rent he won in the contest in order to remain eligible. Williams made his debut in a 63–21 win over

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

where he was a perfect 9 for 9 on PATs. Following the game, Williams was recognized as the AT&T ESPN All-America Player of the Week. The following week, in Texas Tech's 39–33 victory over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Williams was also asked to kick field goals, making two and having one blocked. In 2009, Williams made a career long 43-yard Field Goal against

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

in a 20-13 victory. Williams finished his career 149-150 on extra points and 22-28 (78.6%) on field goals. He is currently tied for sixth on the Red Raiders kickers scoring list with 215 career points. He graduated in 2010.

Post-football career

Matthew Williams currently works at Weatherford High school, Weatherford, TX, as a coach for boys football and girls soccer. He also teaches U.S. History and World History.

References

External links

Texas Tech profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Matt Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football placekickers Texas Tech Red Raiders football players People from Weatherford, Texas Players of American football from Texas