View source for David Williams (wide receiver)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1963)}}
{{distinguish|Dave Williams (wide receiver)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography
| name = David Williams
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|6|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| number = 
| import = yes
| position1 = Wide receiver
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 190
| college = [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|Illinois]]
| high_school = [[Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California)|Junípero Serra]]<br>([[Gardena, California]])
| NFLDraftedYear = 1986
| NFLDraftedRound = 3
| NFLDraftedPick = 82
| NFLDraftedTeam = [[Chicago Bears]]
| playing_years1 = 1986
| playing_team1 = [[Chicago Bears]]
| playing_years2 = 1986
| playing_team2 = [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]
| playing_years3 = 1987
| playing_team3 = [[Los Angeles Raiders]]
| playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|1988}}–{{CFL Year|1989}}
| playing_team4 = [[BC Lions]]
| playing_years5 = {{CFL Year|1990}}
| playing_team5 = [[Ottawa Rough Riders]]
| playing_years6 = {{CFL Year|1991}}
| playing_team6 = [[Edmonton Eskimos]]
| playing_years7 = {{CFL Year|1991}}–{{CFL Year|1992}}
| playing_team7 = [[Toronto Argonauts]]
| playing_years8 = {{CFL Year|1993}}–{{CFL Year|1995}}
| playing_team8 = [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]]
| career_highlights = 
* [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[79th Grey Cup|1991]])
* [[CFL's Outstanding Player Award]] (1988)
* [[Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy]] (1988)
* 2× [[Unanimous All-American]] ([[1984 College Football All-America Team|1984]], [[1985 College Football All-America Team|1985]])
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1984]], [[1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1985]])
* Second-team All-Big Ten ([[1983 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1983]])
| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1988}}
| CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|1991}},{{CFL Year|1993}}
| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|1988}},{{CFL Year|1989}}
| awards =
| NFL = WIL213246
| DatabaseFootball = WILLIDAV03
| CollegeHOF = 2166
| CFHOF = david-williams
}}

'''David Lamar Williams''' (born June 10, 1963) is an American former professional [[gridiron football|football]] player who was a [[wide receiver]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) and [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL).  Williams was named a [[unanimous All-American]] twice playing [[college football]] for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois Fighting Illini]], and is an inducted member of the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] as well as the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] .

Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame<ref>{{cite news |last1=Asmussen |first1=Bob |title=Four downs: Former Illini wide receiver David Williams |url=https://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/football/four-downs-former-illini-wide-receiver-david-williams/article_4b8dcf98-f876-566c-9e25-d5ca0e0fcf6d.html |access-date=11 October 2021 |work=The News-Gazette |date=10 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> in [[2005 in sports|2005]].

Williams attended [[Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California)|Serra High School]] in [[Gardena, California]].  Williams attended [[Los Angeles Harbor College]] where he was a junior college All-American.

==University of Illinois==

===Career at Illinois===
Williams played at Illinois from 1983 to 1985.  Under the prolific passing offense of coach [[Mike White (football coach)|Mike White]], Williams set many Illinois receiving records, and was a consensus two-time First-team [[All-American]].

In Williams' first season, the 1983 [[Illinois Fighting Illini|Fighting Illini]] finished the regular season with a record of 10–1, including a 9–0 mark in [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] games.  Williams caught 59 passes for 870 yards, with six [[touchdown]]s. As Big Ten champions, the Fighting Illini played [[UCLA]] in the 1984 [[Rose Bowl (game)|Rose Bowl]].  Williams caught 10 passes for 88 yards in a 45–9 loss.

In 1984, Williams led all [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] receivers with 101 receptions, 1278 receiving yards, and 9.2 receptions per game. His 101 receptions made Williams the second player in NCAA history to have more than 100 receptions in a season. Williams was a consensus First-team [[1984 College Football All-America Team|All-American]]

Williams was again a consensus First-team [[1985 College Football All-America Team|All-American]] in 1985. He caught 85 passes for 1047 yards and had eight touchdown receptions in the regular season. Illinois played [[United States Military Academy|Army]] in the 1985 [[Peach Bowl]], and Williams caught seven passes for 109 yards, including touchdown catches of 15 and 54 yards, although Illinois lost by the score of 31–29.

Williams finished his collegiate career as the second leading receiver in NCAA history. In 1990, Williams was named to Illinois' 25-man All-Century Team, chosen as part of the celebration of 100 years of Illinois football.

===Trivia===
* Williams is one of three brothers to have played wide receiver at the University of Illinois; along with his brothers Oliver Williams and Steven Williams. 
* Williams' position coach at Illinois was future NFL head coach [[Brad Childress]].

===Awards and recognitions===
* 1984 First-team All-American by the [[Associated Press]], [[UPI]], [[American Football Coaches Association]], [[Football Writers Association of America]], the [[Walter Camp Foundation]], the ''[[Sporting News]]'', and ''[[Football News]]''
* 1985 First-team All-American by the Associated Press, UPI, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Foundation, and the ''Sporting News''
* 1983 Second-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI
* 1984 First-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI
* 1985 First-team All-Big Ten by the AP and UPI
* 1984 Illinois Team [[Most Valuable Player|MVP]]
* 1985 Illinois Team MVP

===Illinois records===
''As of 2005 Illinois Football Media Guide''
* Most receptions, one game: 16,  vs [[Purdue University|Purdue]], October 12, 1985
* Most receptions, season: 101, 1984
* Most receptions, career: 262
* Most receiving yards, season: 1278, 1984
* Most receiving yards, career: 3392
* Most touchdown receptions, season: 10, 1985
* Most touchdown receptions, career: 24
* Most 100-receiving yard games, season: 6, 1984 & 1985 (shared with [[Brandon Lloyd]])
* Most 100-receiving yard games, career: 16
* Most receptions, bowl game: 10, vs UCLA, 1984 Rose Bowl

===NCAA Division I all-time rankings===
''As of 2005 NCAA Division I Football Record Book''
* Career receptions per game: 10th, 7.4
* Season receptions per game: 21st, 9.2, 1984
* Career receptions: 21st, 245
* Season receptions: 24th, 101, 1984

Note: the NCAA does not recognize postseason statistics prior to 2002 in the official records.

===Illinois statistics===
''Including bowl games''

{| class="wikitable"
!Season
!Receptions
!Yards
!Touchdowns
!Yards/Reception
|-
|1983
|69
|958
|6
|15.7
|-
|1984
|101
|1278
|8
|12.7
|-
|1985
|92
|1156
|10
|12.6
|-
|Total
|262
|3392
|24
|12.9
|}

==National Football League==
Williams was taken in the third round of the [[1986 NFL draft]] by the [[Chicago Bears]], with the 82nd overall selection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1986 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1986/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He has the rare distinction of being a 3rd round pick who was cut before the season started. Williams would play two seasons in the [[National Football League]], but would never be able to duplicate his collegiate success in the NFL. Williams played for the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] in [[1986 NFL season|1986]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Transactions |work=The Albany Herald |date=3 September 1986}}</ref> and the [[Los Angeles Raiders]] in [[1987 NFL season|1987]], and would finish his NFL career with 10 catches for 195 yards.

==Canadian Football League==
Williams played seven seasons in the [[Canadian Football League]]. He played for the [[BC Lions]] in 1988 and 1989, the [[Ottawa Rough Riders]] in 1990, the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] in 1991, the [[Toronto Argonauts]] in 1991 and 1992 and the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] from 1993 to 1995. He won the [[CFL's Outstanding Player Award]] in 1988, and played in the classic [[76th Grey Cup]] game in 1988, scoring one touchdown. He won a Grey Cup title for the Toronto Argonauts in 1991.

Williams was inducted into the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] in 2019.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Footballstats |nfl= |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=W/WillDa00 |rotoworld= |dbf= }}

{{1984 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1985 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Bears1986DraftPicks}}
{{CFL receiving yardage leaders}}
{{CFL MOPs}}
{{Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy}}
{{79th Grey Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football wide receivers]]
[[Category:BC Lions players]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian football wide receivers]]
[[Category:Chicago Bears players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Edmonton Elks players]]
[[Category:Illinois Fighting Illini football players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks football players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Raiders players]]
[[Category:Ottawa Rough Riders players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Gardena, California]]
[[Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players]]
[[Category:Toronto Argonauts players]]
[[Category:Winnipeg Blue Bombers players]]
[[Category:NFL replacement players]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles]]