John L. Williams

John L. Williams (born November 23, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Williams played college football for the Florida Gators. A first-round pick in the 1986 NFL draft, he played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

Early life

Williams was born in Palatka, Florida in 1964. He attended Palatka High School, where he was a standout high school football running back in the wishbone offense of the Palatka Panthers. Williams rushed for 3,449 yards and fifty-nine touchdowns, including 1,738 yards as a senior. Williams usually shared the backfield with tailback Neal Anderson, behind the blocking of the Gators' outstanding offensive line known as "The Great Wall of Florida." The Gators finished with identical 9–1–1 records in 1984 and 1985, and best-in-the-conference records of 5–0–1 and 5–1. In a 2006 article series written for The Gainesville Sun, the Sun sportswriters rated him as the No. 31 all-time Gator from among the 100 greatest players of the first century of Florida football.

Professional career

Williams was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round (fifteenth pick overall) of the 1986 NFL draft. He played for the Seahawks for eight seasons from to . He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1990 and 1991. Williams played his final two seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers in and , and his last NFL game was Super Bowl XXX in which the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

During his ten-year professional career, Williams played in 149 regular season games, started in 135 of them, and had 1,245 carries for 5,005 yards and eighteen rushing touchdowns, and 546 receptions for 4,656 yards and nineteen receiving touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1986 SEA 16 129 538 4.2 36 0 33 219 6.6 23 0 1987 SEA 12 113 500 4.4 48 1 38 420 11.1 75 3 1988 SEA 16 189 877 4.6 44 4 58 651 11.2 75 3 1989 SEA 15 146 499 3.4 21 1 76 657 8.6 51 6 1990 SEA 16 187 714 3.8 25 3 73 699 9.6 60 0 1991 SEA 16 188 741 3.9 42 4 61 499 8.1 35 1 1992 SEA 16 114 339 3.0 14 1 74 556 7.5 27 2 1993 SEA 16 82 371 4.5 38 3 58 450 7.8 25 1 1994 PIT 15 68 317 4.7 23 1 51 378 7.4 23 2 1995 PIT 11 29 110 3.8 31 0 24 127 5.3 20 1 Career 149 1,245 5,006 4.0 48 18 546 4,656 8.5 75 19