Erik Williams - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Erik George Williams is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

offensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

who played most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

(1991

1991 NFL season

The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....

-2000

2000 NFL season

The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...

). He played college football at Central State University

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

in Wilberforce, Ohio

Wilberforce, Ohio

Wilberforce is a census-designated place in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,579 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the English statesman William Wilberforce, who worked for abolition of slavery and achieved the end of the slave trade in the United Kingdom and...

, where he was an NAIA All-American offensive lineman. Williams was a 3rd Round draft pick in the 1991 NFL Draft

1991 NFL Draft

The 1991 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...

. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma

Phi Beta Sigma

Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...

Fraternity.

Early years

Williams, was a powerful defensive lineman playing for John Bartram High School

John Bartram High School

John Bartram High School is a public secondary school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia.-History:...

.

Poor grades prevented him from obtaining a division I scholarship, so he enrolled at Central State University

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

in Wilberforce, Ohio.

At CSU

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

he was converted to play the offensive left tackle position

Tackle (American football)

Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....

, helping him become a dominant player at the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

level and an All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n.

During his collegiate career he helped the Marauders to the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

national championship in 1990. It was the first of CSU’s

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

three national titles (1992, 1995) during the decade. Throughout that championship season, Williams helped the offense averaged 492 yards, 54.8 points per game and to also set an NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

record for most points in a singe season with 594 points.

In 2010, Williams was inducted into the Central State University

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

Sports Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

Dallas Cowboys

Williams, was selected by the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

in the 3rd round of the 1991 NFL Draft

1991 NFL Draft

, with a choice from the Steve Walsh

Steve Walsh

Steve, Stephen or Steven Walsh may refer to:* Steve Walsh , British disc jockey* Steve Walsh , of the 1970s progressive rock band Kansas...

trade.

He played sparingly as a rookie, with Nate Newton

Nate Newton

Nathaniel Newton is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers . He also played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, in 1984 and 1985...

playing right tackle

Tackle (American football)

. His level of play during the 1992

1992 NFL season

The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...

training camp, forced the Cowboys to move back Nate Newton

Nate Newton

to left guard

Guard (American football)

In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....

, in order to have the best players available in the offensive line.

In 1992

1992 NFL season

after becoming the Cowboy's starting right tackle

Tackle (American football)

, he earned national recognition when he held Reggie White

Reggie White

Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...

without a sack in a 20-10 Dallas win, earning the NFC's

National Football Conference

The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

Offensive Player of the Week award. Williams handled White even more effectively in their next game, in the NFC

National Football Conference

playoffs on Jan. 10.

Nicknamed "Big E", by 1993

1993 NFL season

The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...

his physical and aggressive play, made him the top offensive lineman in the NFL.

Williams was involved in a serious one-car accident on October 24, 1994, which caused him to miss most of the 1994 season

1994 NFL season

The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...

and took a long period of time before he was 100% recovered. Williams suffered a damaged right knee as well as a broken rib, torn ligaments in his left thumb and facial lacerations that required plastic surgery. A magnetic scan on the knee indicated two torn ligaments—the medial collateral and posterior cruciate—and a torn muscle.

He came back in 1995

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

, not quite up to his standards, but still good enough to help the team win Super Bowl XXX

Super Bowl XXX

Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...

and earn his 3rd trip to the Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

.

Williams was a three-time All-Pro

All-Pro

All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...

and four-time Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

er, playing in the 1993

1993 Pro Bowl

The 1993 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 7, 1993 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The final score was AFC — 23, NFC — 20. Steve Tasker of the Buffalo Bills was the game's MVP. This was the first Pro Bowl to go into overtime...

, 1996

1996 Pro Bowl

The 1996 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 4, 1996 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was NFC 20, AFC 13. Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers was the game's MVP after he had 2 clutch catches, including the final one which won the game. He finished with six catches for 82...

, 1997

1997 Pro Bowl

The 1997 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 2, 1997 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 26, NFC 23. Mark Brunell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was the game's MVP. In the game, Brunell threw for 236 yards...

, and 1999

1999 Pro Bowl

The 1999 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 7, 1999 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 23, NFC 10. Keyshawn Johnson of the New York Jets and Ty Law of the New England Patriots were the game's MVPs. This game was also the last game in the career of Denver Broncos...

Pro Bowl

s. His ability to protect quarterback Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...

and to run-block for running back Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith

Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

s in 1992

1992 NFL season

, 1993

1993 NFL season

and 1995

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

.

From 1992

1992 NFL season

to 1995

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

, together with Nate Newton

Nate Newton

, Mark Tuinei

Mark Tuinei

Mark Pulemau Tuinei was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys...

, Mark Stepnoski

Mark Stepnoski

Mark Matthew Stepnoski is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. He attended Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania, and went on to star at the University of Pittsburgh....

and Larry Allen

Larry Allen

Larry Christopher Allen, Sr. is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft...

, he was part of some of the best offensive lines to play in NFL history.

Despite his dominance and three Super Bowl rings, many believe that, if not for the injuries he suffered in his near-fatal 1994 auto accident, he would have finished his career as one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history.

Baltimore Ravens

He played his final year in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

in 2001

2001 NFL season

The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...

Personal life

After his playing career was over, Williams had maintained a low profile, but had donated his time serving a coaching internship with the Cowboys, and coached a while at his alma mater Central State University

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

. Williams is currently the Founder and CEO of World Champion Sports Group, Multi-Faceted Sports, Media, and Entertainment Company.

Early years

Dallas Cowboys

Baltimore Ravens

Personal life

Links