Madieu Mohammed Williams (born October 18, 1981) 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 ...

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 ...

who played in 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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the second round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. Williams has also played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

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 ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early years

Williams was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa to

Oku Oku or OKU may refer to: *Oku, Cameroon, subdivision in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Lake Oku, a crater lake on the Bamenda Plateau in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Mount Oku, the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volc ...

parents and moved to

Lanham, Maryland Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census it had a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's Orange Li ...

at the age of nine. He attended

DuVal High School DuVal High School (DHS) is a comprehensive science and technology public magnet high school in the Seabrook census-designated place in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with a Lanham postal address.

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

After being drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the

using a pick they acquired in a trade that sent

Corey Dillon Corey James Dillon (born October 24, 1974) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Dillon played college football at Washing ...

to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Williams contributed early by playing in all 16 games. He finished the season with 103 tackles, 11 pass deflections, two sacks, and three interceptions. He returned one of the interceptions for a touchdown. In 2005, Williams only played in 4 games, missing the other 12 due to injury. He did, however, record 23 tackles and an interception. In 2006, Williams returned to play all 16 games of the season. He finished the season with 90 tackles, 13 pass break-ups, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions. In 2007, injuries again caused Williams to miss three games of the season. He finished up the season with 74 tackles, 7 pass deflections, two sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions. He opened up the season with 10 tackles in the

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Minnesota Vikings

After spending his first four years with Cincinnati, Williams signed with Minnesota following the 2007 season. He agreed to a six-year, $33 million contract. He missed the first 7 games of the 2008 season due to a neck injury he suffered during training camp. In his first game back he intercepted

Sage Rosenfels Sage Jamen Rosenfels (born March 6, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Iowa State. He was then drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played with the Miami Dolp ...

to wrap up the win for the Vikings. He finished the 2008 season with 42 tackles and 2 interceptions. On July 28, 2011, he was released.

San Francisco 49ers

Williams signed with the

on August 1, 2011.

Washington Redskins

Williams signed with the Washington Redskins on April 10, 2012. He became the Redskins' starting

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 ...

after

Tanard Jackson Tanard Ricardo Jackson (born July 21, 1985) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Syracuse and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Dra ...

, his main competition for the starting position, was suspended for an entire season. In Week 6 win against his former team, the

, he intercepted a pass from

Christian Ponder Christian Andrew Ponder (born February 25, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played for the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the Minnesota ...

and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.

Training methods

Madieu trains with an athletic group known as "The Stable", to whom he has credited to his success stemming from his freshman year in high school. "This is home, and I feel good when I’m working out," said Williams, who's headed into his fourth season. "It’s a lot of guys that put in a lot of work getting ready for whatever sport that they play. It’s a lot of camaraderie beyond us training."

Community service

The Madieu Williams Foundation, founded in 2005, focuses on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and education. Through his foundation, Madieu reaches out to youth and teaches them at an early age the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Recently, Madieu Williams was honored by Hall of Famer Franco Harris and Harris' company, R Super Foods, as their Cincinnati Super MVP. In 2009, Williams donated $2 million to the University of Maryland to help create the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives. It is the largest gift to the university by an African-American alum. On February 6, 2011, Williams received the

Walter Payton Man of the Year Award The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called s ...

. Every year, on Maryland Day, Williams hosts a free football camp run by former and current terps college and NFL players. Players like Torrey Smith have attended the camp and have coached ages 6–14.

References

External links

Maryland Terrapins bioMinnesota Vikings bioSan Francisco 49ers bioWashington Redskins bioMadieu Williams Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Madieu 1981 births Living people African-American Muslims Oku people Sportspeople from Freetown Sierra Leonean players of American football American football safeties Towson Tigers football players Maryland Terrapins football players Cincinnati Bengals players Minnesota Vikings players San Francisco 49ers players Washington Redskins players People from Lanham, Maryland