Erik Williams

Erik George Williams (born September 7, 1968) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1991 to 2000 and the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. He played college football at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where he was an NAIA All-American offensive lineman. Williams was a third round selection in the 1991 NFL Draft. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Early years[]

Williams was a powerful defensive lineman playing for John Bartram High School. Poor grades prevented him from obtaining an NCAA Division I scholarship, so he enrolled at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

At Central State, Williams was converted to play the offensive left tackle position, helping him become a dominant player at the NAIA level and an All-American.

During his collegiate career, Williams helped the Marauders to the NAIA national championship in 1990. It was the first of three Central State University national titles during the decade. That championship season Williams helped the offense average 492 yards and 54.8 points per game and set an NAIA record for most points in a single season with 594 points.

In 2010, Williams was inducted into the Central State University Sports Hall of Fame.^[1]

Professional career[]

Dallas Cowboys[]

Williams was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 1991 NFL Draft, with a choice from the Steve Walsh trade. He played sparingly as a rookie, with Nate Newton playing right tackle. Williams' level of play during the 1992 training camp forced the Cowboys to move back Newton to left guard, in order to have the best players available on the offensive line.

In 1992, after becoming the Cowboys' starting right tackle, Williams earned national recognition when he held Reggie White without a sack in a 20–10 Dallas win, earning the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week award. Nicknamed "Big E", by 1993, his physical play and aggressive attitude that was rarely seen on the offensive side of the ball, made Williams the top offensive lineman in the NFL. These traits were mentioned by Michael Strahan in his Professional Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech.^[2]

Williams was involved in a serious one-car accident on October 24, 1994, which caused him to miss the remainder of the 1994 season. Williams suffered a damaged right knee as well as a broken rib, torn ligaments in his left thumb and facial lacerations that required plastic surgery. A magnetic scan on the knee indicated two torn ligaments—the medial collateral and posterior cruciate—and a torn muscle.^[3]

He came back in 1995 to help the team win Super Bowl XXX

Williams was a three-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, playing in the 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1999 Pro Bowls. His ability to protect quarterback Troy Aikman and to run-block for running back Emmitt Smith helped the Cowboys win Super Bowls in 1992, 1993 and 1995.

From 1992 to 1994, together with Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski and Kevin Gogan, Williams was part of some of the best offensive lines to play in NFL history, later dubbed "The Great Wall of Dallas".

With San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Karl Wilson, Williams appeared on the cover of the video game Madden NFL '95.

Baltimore Ravens[]

Williams played his final year in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. Williams was used mostly as a reserve tackle appearing in 5 games.

Personal life[]

Williams was accused of sexual assault in 1995 for which he was acquitted. An accusation of rape in 1997^[4] was dismissed when it was discovered the woman had made a false police report for which she was both charged and sued.^[5] In 2002, he was arrested and arraigned on charges of assaulting his wife, Chanda, who fled the home and alerted police.^[6]

References[]