Michael Williams (born September 8, 1990) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He was selected by 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the seventh round (211th overall) in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. 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 ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Early life

Williams attended Pickens County High School in Alabama. He earned All-County, All-Area and honorable mention All-State honors while playing basketball in high school. While at high school, he also earned the 2007 Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State honors as a

Tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

on the first-team and also was selected as the ASWA Class 2A lineman of the year. He was a member of The Mobile Press-Register Elite 18 while at High School. He earned first-team All-State honors in his Junior season and also was an Honorable mention as a Tight end while at high school.

College career

Williams 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 ...

. He finished college with a total of 51 receptions, 503 receiving yards along with seven touchdowns. On January 7, 2013, he had 3 receptions, 17 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown against Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. In January 2013, he was added to the Senior Bowl roster.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

In the

, Williams was selected in the 7th round (211th overall) by the

. On August 22, 2013, Williams broke his hand during a preseason game against 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 ...

. On August 31, 2013, Williams was placed on injured reserve. After the draft of tight end Eric Ebron, it was announced that Williams would be moved to offensive tackle and would wear the number 73.

New England Patriots

On August 25, 2015, the Lions traded Williams to the

in exchange for a 2017 seventh-round draft pick. Williams was assigned No. 85, indicating a return to tight end. During the 2015 season, Williams appeared in 15 regular season games (with nine starts) and caught three passes for 26 yards. Williams also appeared in both of the Patriots playoff games and started in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos on January 24, 2016. On June 8, 2016, Williams suffered a torn ACL during practice. On June 10, 2016, he was waived/injured by the Patriots and was reverted to injured reserve, missing the entire 2016 season. On February 5, 2017, Williams's Patriots appeared in

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

by a score of 34–28 in overtime. On March 9, 2017, Williams re-signed with the Patriots on a one-year deal. On May 12, 2017, Williams was released by the Patriots.

Coaching career

Williams is currently the head football coach at his alma mater, Pickens County High School in Reform, Alabama.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Michael 1990 births Living people People from Reform, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football offensive tackles American football tight ends Alabama Crimson Tide football players Detroit Lions players New England Patriots players High school football coaches in Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama