Jimmy Ray Williams (March 10, 1979 – July 7, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played college football at Vanderbilt. Williams prepped at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge.

Williams also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Houston Texans.

Vanderbilt career

Williams came to Vanderbilt as one of the highest recruited players in school history. He began his career as a running back, where he led the team in rushing yards, return yards, receptions, and touchdowns, landing him on the Freshman All-SEC team. In 1998, following encouragement from head coach Woody Widenhofer, he switched sides of the ball to earn All-SEC honors that same year as a starting cornerback. During the 1999 season against Northern Illinois, Williams returned a punt for a touchdown in the game's final minutes for a 34–31 victory. He is one of only three players in Vanderbilt history to return both a punt and kickoff for a touchdown.

For his career, Williams was among the team's interception and kickoff returns for three straight years. After his senior season, Williams attended the NFL Draft combine in Indianapolis.

In 2013, Williams was selected to the Southeastern Conference Football Legends Class.

Professional athletic career

Williams was drafted in 2001 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills with the 33rd pick of the 6th round. He signed, however, with the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as a punt returner and cornerback through the 2004 season. Beginning in 2004, he played for the Seattle Seahawks, which included his first Super Bowl appearance in 2005 as the Seahawks lost to the Steelers. On May 19, 2008, he signed with the Houston Texans. He was not re-signed following the 2008 season and became a free agent.

NFL statistics Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD 2001 SF 10 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2002 SF 13 12 10 2 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2003 SF 15 22 21 1 0.0 1 1 0 1 6 6 6 0 1 2004 SF 12 47 38 9 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2005 SEA 14 33 25 8 0.0 0 0 0 2 6 3 6 0 5 2006 SEA 16 14 11 3 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Career 80 134 110 24 1.0 1 4 0 3 12 4 6 0 13

Career after NFL Williams returned to Baton Rouge to give back to his school, Episcopal High School, where he coached the middle school team until 2010. Williams served as the assistant athletic director, in addition to defensive coordinator at Episcopal High School.

Personal life and death Williams died on July 7, 2022, aged 43.

References