Raequan Williams (born February 14, 1997) 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 with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

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 ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Early years

Williams grew up in Lawndale and East Garfield Park, two of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago. In sixth grade, he joined the Garfield Gators youth football team. Williams became a national all-star in eighth grade. Williams attended

DePaul College Prep DePaul College Prep is a Catholic high school located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located on the north side of Chicago at 3300 N Campbell Ave. DePaul College Prep is sponsored by the Western Province of the Congregation of the Miss ...

, formerly known as Gordon Tech, where he played basketball and football. He was named captain of the basketball team as a sophomore, coached by

Tom Kleinschmidt Thomas Kleinschmidt (born February 21, 1973) is a retired American basketball player and current head basketball coach at DePaul College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois. He was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American at DePaul B ...

. As a senior on the football team, he was named first-team all-state after recording 74 tackles, eight sacks, nine pass breakups and three forced fumbles. Williams was a four-star recruit ranked the No. 19 tackle in the nation according to

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite be ...

, and he signed with

in December 2014 after considering offers from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, among others. Williams chose the Spartans after hearing fond memories from trusted adults who attended the university.

College career

At Michigan State, Williams

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman season. He started two games at nose tackle as a redshirt freshman. As a sophomore in 2017, Williams was named honorable mention All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and earned Michigan State's Iron Man award for strength and conditioning. He finished with 31 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. As a junior, he was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree after tallying 53 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Despite being considered a potential NFL draft early entrant, Williams told coach

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

he was returning for his senior season to improve as a pass rusher and earn his degree. Coming into his senior season, Williams was on the watchlist for the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2019. Williams recorded 48 tackles including 7.5 for loss, 5.0 sacks and one forced fumble. He participated in the

East-West Shrine Bowl East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

following the season. Williams made 42 consecutive starts at defensive tackle, which he considers one of his favorite achievements. He finished his career with 160 tackles, 29 for loss, and 11.5 sacks in his career.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

After going undrafted in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

, Williams signed an undrafted free agent deal with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 31 and December 5 for the team's weeks 8 and 13 games against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He made his NFL debut in the Cowboys game. On December 9, 2020, Williams was promoted to the active roster. In Week 17 against the

Washington Football Team 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) E ...

on '' Sunday Night Football'', Williams recorded his first career sack on

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...

during the 20–14 loss. On August 31, 2021, Williams was waived by the Eagles and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 2, 2022, Williams signed a reserve/future contract with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He was waived on August 30, 2022.

Carolina Panthers

On October 18, 2022, Williams was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. On August 29, 2023, he was waived for final roster cuts, but signed to the Panthers' practice squad the following day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024.

Personal life

Williams's mother Latasha Williams gave birth to him at the age of 14. He was also raised by Mackenzie Hyde, his third grade teacher whom he considers a godmother. On January 13, 2016, his cousin Antonio Pollards was murdered in a drive-by shooting on the way to school. Williams's brother Corey Hill was killed in a similar drive-by shooting on June 7, 2017. Neither murder has been solved.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioMichigan State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Raequan 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football defensive tackles Michigan State Spartans football players Philadelphia Eagles players Jacksonville Jaguars players Carolina Panthers players