Kyle Williams (defensive tackle)

Kyle Derrick Williams (born June 10, 1983) is an American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and was drafted by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft.

High school career

Williams attended Ruston High School in Ruston, Louisiana, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, he was named 5A Louisiana Defensive MVP after recording 78 tackles, 17 for losses and 7 sacks as a senior. He was a member of the Baton Rouge Advocate Super Dozen and the New Orleans Times-Picayune Blue Chip Top 15 for Louisiana. He also was named MVP of district 1-5A in 2001. In track & field, Williams threw the shotput (53 ft,3 in) on the Ruston track team.

Williams was considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com. He picked LSU over Auburn, Nebraska, Florida and Tennessee. Also in his freshman year of high school he ran for 942 yards and 14 touchdowns for the varsity.

College career

Williams attended Louisiana State University, and played for the LSU Tigers football team from 2002 to 2005. He played in 46 games for the Tigers, starting 33 at defensive tackle. He finished his career with 16.5 quarterback sacks, 26 tackles for a loss, and 140 total tackles. Williams best season came as a senior, where he recorded 61 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. He was named first-team All-American by Rivals.com and second-team All-American by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, and Collegefootballnews.com.

Professional career

Despite a successful college career, Williams was not considered to be a high draft choice. His lack of height, bulk, and athleticism was a major concern for most teams. Williams was drafted in the fifth round, 134th Overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2006 NFL Draft. He became a starter in his rookie season, starting 11 games while recording 53 tackles. On July 3, 2008, he signed a 3-year contract extension with the Bills worth $14.5 million including $5.7 million guaranteed. It will keep Williams in Buffalo through the 2012 season.^[1]

After the 2009 season, Williams was added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster as an alternate. He played as a rotational player. He played nose tackle when the Buffalo Bills were in a 3-4 defense for the next three seasons.

After the 2010 season, Williams was added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster, after Oakland's Richard Seymour suffered a hamstring injury. Williams was widely praised for his high quality of play. Pro Football Focus, a website which grades every play by every player on a positive or negative scale and aggregates the results, named Williams the top defensive player of 2010.^[2]

Before the 2011 season, Williams and the Bills agreed to 6 year, $39 million contract extension, which includes $17 million guaranteed.^[3] After a Week Nine loss to the Jets, Williams was placed on the Injured Reserve list because of a lingering foot injury.^[4]

Before the 2012 season, Williams now plays defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense after playing 3 seasons at nose tackle.

During the 2015 season, On October 18, 2015, Williams was carted off the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. On November 27, 2015, Williams underwent meniscus surgery for the injury he suffered back in October. On December 1, 2015, Williams was placed on Injured Reserve.^[5]

Awards and honors

• Second-team All-SEC (2004)
• SEC Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Alabama, Nov. 14, 2005)
• Second-team All-SEC by Coaches (2005)
• First-team All-SEC by Associated Press (2005)
• Second-team All-American by Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, Collegefootballnews.com (2005)
• First-team All-American by Rivals.com (2005)
• Pro Bowl (2009)
• Pro Bowl (2010)
• Pro Bowl (2012)
• Pro Bowl (2013)
• Pro Bowl (2014)

Personal

In May 2005, Williams married the former Jill Myers, whom he met at LSU. They have five kids together. During a Star 102.5 radio segment called, "The Better Half of the Bills," on December 18, 2012, Kyle's wife Jill admitted that her biggest pet peeve regarding her husband is his reluctance to clean his beard trimmings out of the sink after shaving. Consequently, this has led to his banishment into his children's bathroom to shave. ^[6][7]

References

External links

• Buffalo Bills bio