Michael Deshaun Williams (born January 11, 1980) 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 an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

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). 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 ...

for the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, and was recognized as a consensus

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 ...

. The

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

chose him with the fourth overall pick in the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

, and he played professionally for the Bills and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Early life

Williams was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He graduated from

The Colony High School The Colony High School (TCHS) is a public high school located in the city of The Colony, Texas, US, and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Lewisville Independent School District located in southeastern Denton County. In 2 ...

The Colony, Texas The Colony is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. The population was 44,534 at the 2020 census. History The Colony derives its name from the original Peters Colony. The Peters Colony headquarters was locate ...

, where he played for The Colony Cougars

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. When Williams was in high school, he was so big they didn't have shoulder pads that could fit him, they tried getting pads from Erik Williams and Leon Lett of the Cowboys, and their pads still didn't fit Williams.

College career

While attending the

University of Texas in Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 202 ...

, he played for coach

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American former college football coach. Brown most recently coached at the University of North Carolina, where he had two stints, first from 1988 until 1997, and again from 2019 until his firing ...

Texas Longhorns football The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Texas Longhorns, Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football B ...

team from 1998 to 2001. He played right tackle for the Longhorns, while protecting quarterbacks

Major Applewhite Major Lee Applewhite (born July 26, 1978) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of South Alabama, a position he has held since 2024. Prior to that he was the head coach at the Un ...

and

Chris Simms Christopher David Simms (born August 29, 1980) is an American sports analyst and former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of ...

. Following his senior season in 2001, he was a first-team All-Big-12 selection and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.''2011 NCAA Football Records Book''
Award Winners
National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2011). Retrieved June 24, 2012.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Because

was left-handed, Williams was projected as a top prospect for

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

, widely considered the most important position on the offensive line. He was considered one of the two top prospects in the

, alongside

Bryant McKinnie Bryant Douglas McKinnie (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, twice earning All-Amer ...

, a natural left tackle from the University of Miami.

Buffalo Bills

Williams was selected by the

with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft, three picks ahead of McKinnie. After starting several games at right tackle, he was eventually moved to left tackle, but largely disappointed. He was widely seen as a

draft bust A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...

and eventually lost the starting job to

undrafted 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 ...

free agent

Jason Peters Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks footbal ...

. After a failed attempt to convert Williams to guard, and spending some spot duty at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in goal-line situation, he was released in the 2006 offseason.

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

on March 14, 2006, He was placed on injured reserve on August 29, 2006, and waived on December 29, 2006. He never appeared in a regular season game for the Jaguars.

Washington Redskins

Williams spent two years out of football before he gave the NFL another shot and signed with the

on April 24, 2009. At the time he weighed close to 410 pounds and there was some doubt regarding his ability to handle playing tackle again. Williams eventually lost nearly 70 pounds in order to play the position, but struggled when doing so. Because of constant injuries to the Redskins' offensive line, Williams was moved to

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

, where he played well and started eight games at the position. Williams was rewarded for his efforts on March 6, 2010, with a new two-year contract after new head coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan ( ; born August 24, 1952) is an American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led th ...

and his staff reviewed game film of him. On July 10, 2010, it was reported by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' that Williams would miss the entire 2010 season due to blood clots near his heart. Williams was later released by Washington on July 30, 2011.

Legacy

Notwithstanding that Williams was a four-season starter, some commentators consider him to be a "

" due to his high draft pick and relative lack of long-term success. ''

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 ...

'' named Williams as the No. 4 biggest

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

bust from 1989 to 2008.10-Pack: 10 biggest first-round draft busts of the last 20 years
/ref> In the game,

NFL Street ''NFL Street'' is an American football video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label. It was released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox on January 13, 2004. Barry Sanders of the Detroit ...

, Williams had the highest speed rating for an offensive lineman, comparable to that of some wide receivers.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mike 1980 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Jacksonville Jaguars players People from The Colony, Texas Players of American football from Denton County, Texas Texas Longhorns football players Washington Redskins players