Mike Williams (wide receiver, born 1984)

See also: Mike Williams

Mike Williams

Career information
College:	Southern California
NFL draft:	2005 / round: 1 / pick: 10
Career history
Detroit Lions (2005–2006) Oakland Raiders (2007) Tennessee Titans (2007)
Career highlights and awards
College awards and honors
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Mike Williams (born January 4, 1984 in Template:City-state) is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.

Williams has also played for the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans.

Early years

Growing up, Williams was a Buffalo Bills fan. His favorite player was Barry Sanders (who played for the Detroit Lions), whom he enjoyed watching games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his hometown team. Williams attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida.

High school football

As a senior, Williams had 38 receptions for 789 yards (20.8 avg.) with 12 touchdowns. Williams' honors included Tom Lemming All-American, Super Prep All-Dixie, PrepStar All-Southeast Region,St. Petersburg Times All-Suncoast second team, and Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County.

During his junior year, Williams made the All-State Class 4A second team while making 35 receptions for 803 yards (22.9 avg.) and 12 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, Williams made 28 receptions for 631 yards (22.5 avg.).

Career statistics

	High School Career Receiving Statistics
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Y/R	TD	LNG
1999	Henry B. Plant High School Panthers	--	28	631	22.5	--	--
2000	Henry B. Plant High School Panthers	--	35	803	22.9	12	--
2001	Henry B. Plant High School Panthers	--	38	789	20.8	12	--
Total		--	101	2,223	22.0	24	--

High school basketball

Williams also played basketball, averaging 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a senior in 2002. As a junior in 2001, Williams earned Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County first team honors, averaging 14.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while helping his team to the state semifinals.

College career

Before attending USC, Williams was offered scholarships to Florida State University and the University of Florida, but neither school saw him as a wide receiver. Williams played split end wide receiver during most of his games for the USC Trojans. Williams played in all 26 games during his freshman and sophomore years at USC, and started 15 of those games. He wore the number 1 while on the football team.

His freshman season, he had 81 receptions for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns. These statistics are all USC and Pacific 10 Conference freshman records.

Williams was named First-Team Freshman All-American choice by The Sporting News, Scripps/Football Writers, and Rivals.com. Selected as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, named to the All-Pac-10 second team, All-American honorable mention, The Sporting News Freshman All-Pac-10 first team, and The Sporting News All-Pac-10 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year.

In his final season, as a sophomore, Williams started all 13 games at wide receiver, and led the Trojans in receiving yards and touchdowns which resulted in 95 catches leading to 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns. His 16 touchdown receptions were the most by a Trojan since 1981. Williams was a finalist for the 2003 Biletnikoff Award (nation’s top receiver) while finishing eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. He also earned first team All-American (AP, ESPN.com, Football Writers, and SI.com among others) honors. Williams also was a 2003 All-Pac-10 First Team selection and CBS.Sportsline.com National Player of the Year. That year he also completed two pass attempts for 38 yards and one touchdown against Michigan in the Rose Bowl, and blocked a field goal.

Career statistics

	Collegiate Career Receiving Statistics
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Y/R	TD	LNG
2002	USC Trojans	13	81	1,265	15.6	14	55
2003	USC Trojans	13	95	1,314	13.8	16	40
Total		26	176	2,579	14.7	30	55

Awards and honors

• Second-team All-Pac-10 (2002)
• Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2002)
• First-team Sporting News Freshman All-American (2002)
• Honorable mention All-American (2002)
• First-team All-Pac-10 (2003)
• Consensus First-team All-American (2003)
• Biletnikoff Award finalist (2003)
• CBS Sportsline.com National Player of the Year (2003)

Professional career

NFL draft controversy

Prior to the 2004 NFL Draft, Williams made a strategic error that would cost him his NCAA eligibility and require him to sit out the entire 2004 college football season. His decision ultimately had a profound effect on his subsequent pro career. Long before Williams had even declared for the draft, Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett was suspended by his school following his 2002 freshman year. After being unable to gain reinstatement with Ohio State, Clarett made the decision to declare for the NFL draft. However, since Clarett was only of true sophomore eligibility, he had to legally challenge the NFL rule that a player must be three years removed from high school to be eligible for the NFL draft. After a court proceeding, a Federal Judge ruled that the NFL could not legally bar Clarett from entering the 2004 NFL draft.

Williams, having completed his sophomore year and only two years removed from high school, made the decision to declare for the 2004 NFL draft as well after hearing the Federal Judge's ruling. Williams hired an agent and moved forward presenting himself as a legitimate first round pick (and most, if not all, NFL pundits and NFL personnel agreed that Williams was a first round choice).

Williams' hiring of an agent would prove impactful on his career. He did not wait to see if the initial Federal Court decision was going to be appealed and if so, what the outcome of that appeal would have been prior to declaring for the draft. By declaring his intent to enter the draft, hiring an agent to represent his interests, and filing the NFL paperwork necessary to enter the draft, he made himself ineligible for NCAA reinstatement should an appeal overturn the Federal Court decision.

Several months later, still prior to the 2004 NFL draft, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, overturned the Federal Judge's decision allowing Clarett to enter the draft. Additionally, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal. The result was that Clarett and Williams were not eligible for the 2004 NFL draft and therefore unable to legally enter.

Because Williams had hired an agent, he was also no longer eligible for reinstatement with the NCAA. As a result, he was required to sit the entire 2004 American football season and, because of his ineligibility, he was not allowed to practice with USC during the season as well.

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables
Wt	40 yd	20ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Wonderlic
229 lb*	4.56s*	4.23s	6.98s	38.5 in	X	20

(* represents NFL Combine)

Detroit Lions

He was selected 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, the third WR drafted in the first round in as many years by the Lions. Williams selected jersey #88, which had been retired in honor of Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders.

As a rookie in 2005, Williams, appeared in 14 games with four starts. Williams recorded his first touchdown catch in his NFL debut, a 3-yard pass from quarterback Joey Harrington, in the season opener against Green Bay. Williams made his first career start against the Ravens and had 1 reception for 7 yards. Williams had a career long, 49 yard reception in Cleveland. He finished that game with 5 receptions for 95 yards. Williams then again started in Minnesota and had 4 receptions for 43 yards. Three-of-four receptions were for first downs. Williams was then inactive for the Lions game in Dallas due to an injured ankle. Williams had a season-high 6 receptions for 84 yards against Atlanta. Had a 21-yard reception for a first down in New Orleans on the Lions opening drive.

He finished his rookie season with 29 receptions for 350 yards and 1 touchdown while playing in 14 games with four starts.

In 2006, Williams was on the inactive list for both of the Lions' first two games. He played in just eight games in the 2006 season, and made eight catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. During the Lions' Week 15 loss at Green Bay, Williams led the Lions in receiving yards after catching three passes for 42 yards. Williams caught two more passes in a Week 16 loss to Chicago, but posted several drops as well, and was unable to secure a potential game-winning touchdown pass thrown by Jon Kitna as time expired. During the Lions' Week 17 win on the road in Dallas, Williams caught two passes for 28 yards, including a fourth quarter 21-yard touchdown pass.

Oakland Raiders

Williams was traded along with Josh McCown to the Oakland Raiders during the first day of the 2007 NFL Draft in exchange for a 2007 fourth-round pick which the Lions used to select A.J. Davis. In Oakland, Williams reunited with his former college positions coach Lane Kiffin.

On October 28, 2007 in a road game against the Tennessee Titans, Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw a pass to Williams which, if caught, would have given the Raiders the first down and brought them into the red zone. Instead, Williams dropped the football and the Raiders lost possession, on a turnover on downs, and lost the game because the Titans maintained possession for the remaining time on the clock. Williams' error turned out to be his last play with Oakland as the Raiders released him a few days afterward.

Tennessee Titans

Williams signed with the Tennessee Titans on November 22, 2007, reuniting him with former USC running back LenDale White and his former offensive coordinator from USC, Norm Chow. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Williams weighed 271 pounds at the time of the signing - an unusually high weight for a wide receiver. Williams has had weight issues throughout his career, and some schools recruited him as a tight end out of high school. He was inactive for his first game with the team. Williams lost 30 pounds in the off-season by boxing, playing basketball, and doing pilates. He reported to OTA's in May 2008 at 240 pounds. On July 31, the Titans released Williams[1].

Career statistics

	Professional Career Receiving Statistics
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Y/R	TD	LNG
2005	Detroit Lions	14	29	350	12.1	1	49
2006	Detroit Lions	8	8	99	12.3	1	21
2007	Oakland Raiders	6	7	90	12.9	0	24
2007	Tennessee Titans	2	0	0	0.0	0	0
Total		30	44	539	12.2	2	49

External links

• Detroit Lions bio
• Oakland Raiders bio
• Tennessee Titans bio
• USC Trojans bio

{{subst:#if:Williams, Mike|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1984}}

|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1984 births

}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}

|| LIVING  = 
| MISSING  = 
| UNKNOWN  = 
| #default = 

}}