Terrance Tyrone Williams (born September 8, 1989) 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 ...
wide receiver for the
Zappers of
Fan Controlled Football
Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is a professional 7-on-7 Indoor football league created in 2017 as the first sports league controlled by fans. All games are played at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia and broadcast on Twitch, NBCLX, DAZN, ...
(FCF). 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 ...
at
Baylor, where he earned
All-American recognition, before being drafted by 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 ...
in the third round of the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
.
Early years
Williams was born in
Highland Hills, Dallas
Highland Hills is a neighborhood in the southern sector of Dallas, Texas. The neighborhood is centered on the intersection of Bonnie View and Simpson Stuart roads. Approximately 78% of the neighborhood is African American, 18% is Hispanic, 2% is wh ...
. He attended
W. T. White High School
Warren Travis White High School is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas ( USA). W. T. White High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.
The school, named in honor of the Dallas sch ...
in Dallas, and played for the White Longhorns high school football team. As a senior, he had 59 receptions for 972 yards and eight
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 Ameri ...
s. Considered a two-star recruit by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
, he accepted a scholarship to Baylor over an offer from
Colorado State.
College career
Williams attended
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
, where he played for the
Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989, the Bears opened ...
team from 2008 to 2012. During his college career, he had 202 receptions for 3,334 yards with 27 touchdowns. Williams was also a
Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
finalist for 2011. In 2012, he led the nation with 1,832 receiving yards.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
2013 season: Rookie year
In the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
, 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 ...
traded down in the first round with the
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 ...
, in exchange for a third round pick that the team used to select Williams with the 74th overall pick.
Williams struggled in training camp adjusting to the team's offense, but by the end of the preseason, he had supplanted
Dwayne Harris
Dwayne Lenard Harris (born September 16, 1987) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at East Ca ...
as the third
wide receiver. Williams again struggled at the start of the regular season with his route running and dropped passes, until the fourth game against the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
, where he started in place of an injured
Miles Austin
Miles Jonathon Austin III (born June 30, 1984) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 10 seasons, ...
and registered seven receptions for 71 yards, but also had a critical fumble trying to extend for a touchdown in the last minutes of the 30-21 road loss. Williams started in the next game against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
, catching four passes for 151 yards and a touchdown in the narrow 51-48 loss. By Week 8 against the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, Williams set a Cowboys franchise record for rookies, with a touchdown in his fourth consecutive game. He returned to his third receiver position in Week 12 against the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and also started returning
kickoff
Kickoff or kick-off may refer to
* Kick-off (association football)
* Kickoff (gridiron football)
* ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games
* ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club
* ''Kick Off'' (mag ...
s in place of an injured Harris.
Williams finished his rookie season with 44 receptions for 736 yards (16.7 average) and five touchdowns in 16 games and eight starts. At the time, his totals ranked fourth for most receptions, most receiving yards, and most receiving touchdowns by a rookie in franchise history.
2014 season
Williams started the year looking to improve on a productive rookie campaign, immediately establishing himself as a legitimate No. 2 wideout and deep threat opposite
Dez Bryant
Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...
by catching six touchdowns in the first seven weeks. After a strong start to his season that included a critical first down reception in a 30-23 road victory over the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, Williams slowed down catching only two touchdowns in the remaining 10 weeks, finishing the season with 37 receptions for 621 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games and starts.
During the first playoff game of the Cowboys’ season and his career, Williams once again solidified his status as a playmaker by registering three receptions for 92 yards, while scoring two critical touchdowns against the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
and their No. 2 ranked defense. This included a 76-yard catch-and-run in which he caught a 14-yard pass on a slant route and ran through four defenders en route to a 76-yard touchdown as well as the game-winning 8-yard score. Dallas won the game 24-20. In the Divisional round against the
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 ...
, Williams drew a pass interference in the first quarter that led to a touchdown and also scored on a 38-yard touchdown reception, but he was a non-factor in the second half of the game. The Cowboys lost on the road by a score of 21–26.
2015 season
![Terrance Williams](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Terrance_Williams.jpg)
With leading
wide receiver Dez Bryant
Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...
missing most of the season, Williams failed to show that he was ready to be a number one receiver, which was complicated by the fact that he played with four different starting quarterbacks with varying degrees of knowledge of the team's offense.
Williams had a career-game statistically in the regular-season finale against the
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 ...
, making eight receptions for 173 yards in a 34-23 loss with
Kellen Moore
Kellen Christopher Moore (born July 5, 1988) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played six seasons in the NFL for the ...
as the starting quarterback. Williams had only two games where he registered over 80 receiving yards and finished the season with 52 receptions for 840 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and 13 starts.
2016 season
During the season-opener against the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, Williams caught the ball near the end of the game but did not run out of bounds, allowing the Giants to win 20-19. He finished the game with three receptions for 34 yards. Three weeks later, Williams caught four passes for 44 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the
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 ...
in a 24-17 road victory. In the regular-season finale 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 plays ...
, Williams caught a three-yard touchdown in what would prove to be the final play of
Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
's career. Williams finished the 27-13 road loss with three receptions for 33 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Williams finished the season with 44 receptions for 594 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games and starts. In the Divisional Round against the
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 ...
, Williams caught four passes for 68 yards as the Cowboys narrowly lost 31–34.
2017 season
On March 10, 2017, Williams signed a four-year, $17 million contract extension with the Cowboys.
During a Week 9 28-17 victory over the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
, Williams had his best game of the season, catching nine passes for 141 yards. Williams finished the season with a career-high 53 receptions for 568 yards in 16 games and 14 starts.
2018 season
Williams was limited during training camp while recovering from offseason foot surgery.
Williams played in the first three games of the season before aggravating the foot injury. He was placed on injured reserve on October 6, 2018. On October 18, 2018, Williams was suspended for three games by the NFL for breaking the substance abuse policy.
On February 18, 2019, the Cowboys declined the option on the final year on Williams’ contract, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year.
St. Louis BattleHawks
In October 2019, Williams was selected by the
St. Louis BattleHawks in the
2020 XFL Supplemental Draft. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.
Ottawa Redblacks
The
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Startin ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) announced that Williams had signed with the team on September 13, 2021, but he was released on October 8, 2021.
Fan Controlled Football
On March 13, 2022, Williams was selected by the Knights of Degen in the seventh round of the first FCF draft of the second season. He made his debut against the Bored Ape FC on March 16, recording a completed two-point conversion and a nine-yard reception. Through the weekly draft, Willams was selected by the Zappers. At 0-4, Willams helped propel the team to their first win of the season, connecting on his third touchdown catch of the season from
Johnny Manziel
Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...
.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Legal issues
On May 19, 2018, Williams was arrested in
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...
on suspicion of misdemeanor public intoxication after his car was found crashed into a light pole. He was released on bond. On August 1, 2018, public intoxication charges were dismissed after Williams completed a state-mandated Alcohol Awareness Education course.
See also
*
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
The list of college football yearly receiving leaders identifies the major college receiving leaders for each season from 1937 to the present. It includes yearly leaders in three statistical categories: (1) receptions, (2) receiving yardage; (3) y ...
References
External links
*
Dallas Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Terrance
1989 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football wide receivers
Baylor Bears football players
Dallas Cowboys players
St. Louis BattleHawks players
Players of American football from Dallas
Players of Canadian football from Dallas
W. T. White High School alumni