Maurice "Moe" Anthony Sherrod Williams (born November 7, 1987) is an

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 wi ...

wide receiver for the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

(NAL).

Early years

Born the son of Monica Jones, Maurice was one of the most highly touted recruits coming out of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the 2007 Recruiting Class. Maurice was a Four Star recruit by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

and was ranked as high as the #13 WR in the Nation, even though he was a

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 ...

at Erie, PA

Strong Vincent High School Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

where he was a Class AAA All-State Defensive Back and an All-Region QB for the Colonels. He earned Local, Regional, and National attention, being named to the SuperPrep All-American Team, and was selected to play in the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game. He was among those selected in the ESPN150 and Scout Hot 100. Lettered all four years in Football, Basketball, and Track & Field while at Strong Vincent.

College career

Picked to attend the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

over West Virginia and Iowa for the 2007 NCAA Football Season to play for the Panthers. Williams played one season for the Panthers as a True Freshman. After being Panthers top Wide Receiver in three spring scrimmages and the Annual Blue-Gold Game, Williams was declared Academically Ineligible. Early reports said Williams was set to take a Red-Shirt year, but he transferred to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He never became eligible to play at Edinboro.

Professional career

Canton Cougars

On March 24, 2011, almost four years since Williams last played organized football, Maurice signed with the Canton Cougars of the

Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

(UIFL). In seven games for the Cougars, Williams scored 17 Touchdowns on 34 Receptions.

Cleveland Gladiators

On October 28, 2011, Williams signed with the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cava ...

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 ...

(AFL) for the 2012 season. Maurice earned the Week 16 Spalding Highlight of the Week for his 53-yard kick return touchdown versus the

Orlando Predators

On May 5, 2013, Williams was acquired by the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

after spending the earlier part of the season with the

. On his first two touches as a Predator, Williams scored on a 56-yard kick return and a 41-yard reception.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 20, 2013, Williams signed with the Indianapolis Colts. On August 25, Williams was waived by the Colts with an injury settlement.

Los Angeles Kiss

On May 8, 2014, Williams was assigned to the Los Angeles Kiss. He scored three touchdowns in his first start with the Kiss.

Jacksonville Sharks

On June 2, 2014, Williams was traded to the

Las Vegas Outlaws

On December 22, 2014, Williams was selected by the Las Vegas Outlaws in the 2014 Expansion Draft.

Return to Erie

On April 15, 2015, Williams signed with the

Erie Explosion The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the ...

, who had moved to the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Foo ...

Portland Thunder

On May 19, 2015, Williams was assigned to the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

. On December 4, 2015, Williams was placed on league suspension.

Jacksonville Sharks

On February 6, 2017, Williams signed with the

, who had moved to the

References

External links

Pitt Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Maurice 1987 births Living people American football wide receivers Pittsburgh Panthers football players Canton Cougars players Erie Explosion players Cleveland Gladiators players Orlando Predators players Los Angeles Kiss players Jacksonville Sharks players Las Vegas Outlaws (arena football) players Portland Thunder players Portland Steel players