Avery A. Williams Sr. (born September 2, 1994) is an American professional football middle linebacker. He has played for the Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent after playing college football at Temple University.
 Williams with the Montreal Alouettes in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | September 2, 1994 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 223 lb (101 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Baltimore (MD) Archbishop Curley |
| College: | Temple (2012–2016) |
| Position: | Middle Linebacker |
| Undrafted: | 2017 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
Early life
editWilliams played running back, wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive back for at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Maryland.[1]
College career
editAfter using a redshirt season in 2012, Williams played college football for the Temple Owls from 2013 to 2016.[1] He became a full time starter at the strong side linebacker spot in his senior year in 2016 and appeared in 14 games, having 66 total tackles, with nine tackles for losses, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two recoveries.[1] Following his productive 2016 season, Williams was named to the All-AAC Second Team.[1]
Professional career
editHouston Texans
editWilliams was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2017.[2] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[3]
Ottawa Redblacks
editOn January 8, 2018, Williams signed with the Ottawa Redblacks.[4] He made the team's active roster following training camp and played in his first professional game on June 21, 2018, against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[5] In the third game of the 2018 season, on July 6, 2018, against the Montreal Alouettes, he made his first career start.[6] On August 17, 2018, he scored his first career touchdown as he returned a Matt Nichols fumble 43 yards for the score in a victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[5][7] He played in 17 regular season games in his rookie year, starting in 11 of them, where he had 43 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, and one touchdown.[5] He also started in his first two post-season games that year, including the Eastern Conference final game and the 106th Grey Cup,
In 2019, Williams had a strong start to the season as he recorded 69 defensive tackles in the team's first 11 games before he suffered a season-ending injury.[8] Williams was the team's nominee for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player awards.[9] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season. Instead, he re-signed with the Redblacks on February 3, 2021.[10]
In the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, Williams played in 13 regular season games where he had 89 defensive tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and his first career interception.[5] He had his best career game in the opening game of the season where he recorded a franchise record-tying 14 defensive tackles and also one sack on August 7, 2021, in the win over the Edmonton Elks.[5][11] At the end of the season, Williams was once again named the team's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and CFL East All-Star.[12] In 18 games in the 2022 season. Williams had a career high 92 defensive tackles, 2 special teams tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 3 pass deflections, and 1 fumble recovery. Williams was once again a star player for Ottawa in 2022, contributing with 92 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. Following the season, with his contract expiring and unable to agree to new terms, Ottawa released Williams on February 11, 2023, allowing him to pursue a contract elsewhere.[13]
Montreal Alouettes
editOn February 11, 2023, Williams and the Montreal Alouettes agreed to a contract.[14] In 2023, he played in nine regular season games, starting in six, where he had 34 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and one pass knockdown.[15] He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.[16]
Personal life
editWilliams was born in Baltimore, Maryland to parents Willinette and Anthony Williams.[1] He and his fiancée, Precious, have one son, Avery Jr.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Avery Williams". Temple Owls. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "OFFICIAL: Texans sign 20 college free agents". HoustonTexans.com. May 12, 2017. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ "Transactions: Texans down to 53-man roster". HoustonTexans.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018.
- ^ "REDBLACKS release DB Taylor; sign five". Canadian Football League. January 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Avery Williams". Canadian Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "Game Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "Ottawa Redblacks vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers". Canadian Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "Game Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "CFL announces 2019 team award winners". October 30, 2019.
- ^ "Redblacks bring back linebacker Avery Williams". OttawaRedblacks.com. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ "Ottawa Redblacks vs Edmonton Elks". Canadian Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "A BIG DAY: Redblacks bring back Avery Williams for 2022, team award nominees announced". Ottawa Sun. November 17, 2021.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (February 11, 2023). "Ottawa Redblacks release LB Avery Williams". TSN. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ Dunk, Justin (February 12, 2023). "Montreal Alouettes sign LB Avery Williams following release from Redblacks". 3DownNation. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ "Games Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ "Official 2024 Free Agent Tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "NO HARD FEELINGS: Former Redblacks all-star Avery Williams talks about 'wild' ride into free agency". Ottawa Sun. February 28, 2023.