Isaiah Williams (wide receiver, born 2001)
_(52514541904)_(cropped).jpg) Williams with Illinois in 2022 | |||||||||
| No. 18 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver Return specialist | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 29, 2001 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Trinity Catholic (St. Louis, Missouri) | ||||||||
| College: | Illinois (2019–2023) | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2024 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2024 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Isaiah Williams (born January 29, 2001) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
High school career
[edit]Williams attended Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He played quarterback in high school.[1] Williams was the Missouri Gatorade Football Player of the Year both his junior and senior seasons.[2] He played in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.[3] He committed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to play college football.[4]
College career
[edit]Williams played quarterback his first two years at Illinois in 2019 and 2020. He played in four games his first season and took a redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2020, he started four games and played in one other. In his first career start, he rushed for 192 yards, which was a school record for quarterbacks.[5] Overall for the season, he completed 26 of 63 passes for 393 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for 389 yards with a touchdown.
Prior to the 2021 season, Williams was switched to wide receiver.[6] In his first year as a receiver, he led the team with 47 receptions for 525 yards and four touchdowns.[7] He started all 13 games in 2022 and again led the team with 82 receptions for 715 yards and five touchdowns.[8]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9+1⁄4 in (1.76 m) |
182 lb (83 kg) |
30+1⁄8 in (0.77 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.57 s | 1.56 s | 2.62 s | 4.11 s | 6.75 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) |
10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) |
17 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10][11] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
[edit]On April 28, 2024, Williams signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent, after not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft.[12] He was also selected by the Birmingham Stallions in the fourth round of the 2024 UFL draft on July 17.[13] He was notably among the 53 players to make the Lions initial Week 1 roster. However, he was released by the team on November 7.[14]
Cincinnati Bengals
[edit]On November 8, 2024, Williams was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ Ryan, Shannon (February 5, 2019). "Illinois committed to giving Isaiah Williams a shot at quarterback — a big reason he signed with the Illini: 'He loves that "he's too short" thing'". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "All-purpose: Isaiah Williams, Trinity". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 1, 2020.
- ^ Smith, Cam (September 5, 2018). "Isaiah Williams, Marcus Washington, Shammond Cooper honored with Under Armour All-America jerseys". USA Today High School Sports.
- ^ "Lovie lands 5-star QB recruit Isaiah Williams". Herald & Review. March 23, 2018.
- ^ Wagner, Joey (November 14, 2020). "'He put the team on his back,' Illinois quarterback Isaiah Williams rushes into record book". Herald & Review.
- ^ Dare, Chad (May 8, 2021). "Isaiah Williams switches from quarterback to wide receiver". Commercial-News. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024.
- ^ Richey, Scott (March 23, 2024). "Williams embracing challenge of new offense". The News-Gazette.
- ^ Richey, Scott (March 25, 2024). "Notes: Williams focused on growing as receiver, leader this spring". The News-Gazette.
- ^ "Isaiah Williams Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Isaiah Williams College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ @IlliniFootball (March 9, 2024). "2024 Isaiah Williams Pro Day" (Tweet). Retrieved March 28, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Twentyman, Tim (May 10, 2024). "TWENTYMAN: A closer look at the Lions' undrafted rookie free agents". DetroitLions.
- ^ "2024 UFL College Draft: Showboats select Kansas QB Jason Bean with No. 1 pick". FoxSports.com. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ "Lions Release Undrafted WR Isaiah Williams for Jameson Williams' Return". BVNSports.com. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ "Bengals Acquire Isaiah Williams on Waivers". Bengals.com. November 8, 2024.