James Franklin Williams, Jr. (born March 8, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who previously played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the

in the second round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, but was later suspended for violating the NFL's banned substances policy.

Early years

Williams was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. As a child, he played for the Hampton Tornados in a youth football league. He attended Bethel High School as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, playing for the Bethel Bruins

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. He played the previous three seasons playing for Hampton High School, winning a state championship in 1998. Williams was known for his versatility during his prep career, competing at

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

, wide receiver and outside

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He earned All-Peninsula District honors as a junior and senior, adding first-team honors in 2001, and was elected to the Newport News '' Daily Press'' All-Star team as a senior. In his final season, he collected over 100 tackles with two sacks and intercepted seven passes, returning two for touchdowns as a safety and outside linebacker. On offense, he compiled over 1,000 yards of total offense as a quarterback, passing for five touchdowns and rushing for six. He also returned punts and kicks.

College career

Williams enrolled at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

, where he played for coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...

Virginia Tech Hokies football The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

team as a

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

from 2002 to 2005. He played sparingly his first year, backing up All-American

Willie Pile Willie Marquis Pile (born May 25, 1980) is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. He also played in the Canadian Football League for the Toronto Argonauts. He played colleg ...

. In

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, Williams moved into the starting job, and scored his first career touchdown, taking a 55-yard interception to the endzone against Rutgers. In the Hokies'

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

championship season, Williams moved from safety to

and played a critical role in two close games. In a 17-10 win against Wake Forest, Williams intercepted a Matt Mauk pass in Hokie territory and returned it to midfield to set up a Tech scoring drive. On Wake's final drive of the game, Williams broke up a pass in the endzone on third down that would have tied the game and potentially sent it into overtime. Against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Williams intercepted a pass from

Darian Durant Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...

just before halftime that set up a Hokies field goal. During his senior year at Tech, Williams was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and a unanimous first-team All-American.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Williams was drafted in the second round (37th overall) of the

by the

. In his rookie season with the Falcons, Williams started five games and made 24 tackles. On June 2, 2007, Williams was cited in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

for possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

during the 2007 offseason. Due to the NFL's personal conduct policy, he was suspended by Roger Goodell for the first five games of the 2008 season. Williams was released by the Falcons on June 17, 2008.Atlanta Falcons Cut Jimmy Williams - FanHous - AOL Sports Blog
/ref> He served the five-game suspension as a free agent and was not signed the rest of the year.

San Francisco 49ers

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Williams was signed to a future contract by the

on January 22, 2009. Williams has been suspended for at least one year for violating the NFL's

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

policy,

Spokane Shock

On January 6, 2014, Williams was assigned to the Spokane Shock of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. He was placed on Injured Reserve on March 14, 2014. Williams was released from injured reserve on June 5, 2014.

New Orleans VooDoo

On March 6, 2015, Williams was traded to the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

for future considerations.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jimmy 1984 births Living people All-American college football players American football cornerbacks American football safeties Atlanta Falcons players Hampton High School (Virginia) alumni San Francisco 49ers players Virginia Tech Hokies football players Players of American football from Hampton, Virginia Spokane Shock players New Orleans VooDoo players