Randal Ellison Williams (born May 21, 1978) 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 wi ...

wide receiver 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) for 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 pla ...

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 divi ...

and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...

Early years

Williams attended

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admis ...

, where he played wide receiver and

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

in football. He also practiced track, running in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

. He earned a silver medal in the 100-meters at the New England Prep School Championships and tied the school record.

College career

Williams accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a junior, he saw playing time as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and defensive end. He played in 11 games, posting 10 receptions for 149 yards (14.9-yard average), 3 receiving

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s, 4 carries for 26 yards and one tackle. As a senior, he played in 7 games, finishing with 10 receptions for 258 yards (25.8-yard average), 4 receiving

s, 47 carries for 163 yards, 3 rushing

s and returned 8 punts for 146 yards (18.3-yard average).

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Williams was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the 2001 NFL Draft, who were intrigued by his size to speed ratio. He was declared inactive in the first 6 games until being waived on October 27.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 29, 2001, he was claimed off waivers by the

. As a rookie, he played in 7 games (2 inactive) and had 7

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. In 2002, he finished sixth on the team with 11

tackles. In a 2003, he tallied 11

tackles. In a game against 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 play ...

, he returned an

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the ...

for a touchdown which officially took just three seconds, making it the fastest touchdown since the league started using the scoreboard clock in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

. However, for Williams to have run 37 yards in three seconds would have required the equivalent of a 9.8 second 100-metre dash, which is somewhat unlikely given that he was wearing football pads and slowed before reaching the goal-line. Replays show that the game clock didn't actually start until after Williams took a few steps (at least two seconds). In 2004, he missed most of the year with a fractured scapula in his right shoulder. During his time with the Cowboys he was given the chance to play several games at wide receiver, but only caught one pass and was eventually cut on April 28, 2005.

Oakland Raiders

On August 2, 2005, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Oakland Raiders, with the intention of converting him into a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

. He posted 13 receptions for 164 yards. In 2006 he started 10 games, collecting 28 receptions for 293 yards (18.3-yard average) until being replaced by

Courtney Anderson Courtney Jerome Anderson Sr. (born November 19, 1980) is a former American football tight end. Born in Greenville, Texas, Anderson attended high school in Richmond, California and played college football at Contra Costa College and San Jose State ...

. The next year, he left training camp for three days to deal with "personal issues", which led to his release on August 4, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Randal 1978 births Living people Players of American football from the Bronx American football tight ends American football wide receivers Deerfield Academy alumni New Hampshire Wildcats football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Dallas Cowboys players Oakland Raiders players