Williams played most of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers.
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Where Are They Now: DeAngelo Williams
Sep 11, 2019 | Football
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Former All-American raising awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer.
By: By Phil Stukenborg
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If the city of Memphis, or the University of Memphis, needed another spokesman to promote the virtues of the city, or the school, they wouldn't need to look further than DeAngelo Williams.
The former NFL and UofM All-America running back takes every opportunity to praise the time he spent in Memphis, where from 2002-05 he resurrected the Tigers football program and led it to three-consecutive bowl appearances after a three-decade postseason drought.
Williams, who played high school football in Wynne, Ark., likes to say the program did as much for him as he did for it.
"I was born and raised in Arkansas, but I was built in Memphis," Williams said.
When he completed his standout career, he had rushed for a school-record 6,026 yards, a total that ranks sixth in NCAA history. His 34 100-yard rushing games remain the college football standard with two of those coming in rare back-to-back victories against Ole Miss. He rushed for 135 yards in a 2003 win at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and followed with 118 yards in the 2004 season opener at Ole Miss.
Williams appeared recently on ESPN's Get Up show.
In his final game for the UofM, he rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers past Akron 38-31 in the 2005 Motor City Bowl.
In the NFL, he spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers and ended his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the Steel City, he re-united with several former Memphis assistant coaches, including Randy Fichtner, who was instrumental in recruiting Williams to the UofM. A second-team All-Pro back in 2008 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2009, Williams ended his NFL career in 2017 with the Steelers.
For as much as he accomplished with a football in his hands, he hopes he can be as productive in this phase of his life without a football cradled in his elbow.
Williams lost his mother, Sandra Hill, in 2014 after her battle with breast cancer. Her death sparked a mission for Williams, who has been active raising funds and awareness for the disease ever since.
The DeAngelo Williams Foundation, a non-profit organization, was created in response to the loss of his mother and four aunts, each of whom died from breast cancer. The mission of the foundation is to seek and develop initiatives to support the eradication of breast cancer through preventative care and research.
Each summer in Memphis, he plays host to the Phenomenal Pros Celebrity Golf Tournament and Celebrity Bowling Challenge.
"We've been doing this for 11 years now," Williams said. "I've always wanted to find a way to give back. I didn't want my legacy to be all about football.
"I didn't want it to just be people saying 'He was the best football player to ever play the game at Memphis' and then, in the community, I did nothing. When I was done playing football, I wanted to be known for giving something back."
Williams lives in Charlotte, N.C., but Memphis is a cherished second home, a place where he remains a popular figure more than a decade after he last rambled into the end zone at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. What he's doing now will only strengthen his legacy.
"I'm busier now than when I was playing football," Williams said. "But it's fun. It's giving. It's so much better to give than to take."
In Charlotte, he said he recently hosted a 5K and 53-mile bike ride to raise money for his foundation. The event was held Aug. 10 and part of the money was used to fund 53 mammograms – the number corresponding to the age at which his mother died – the same day in the Charlotte community.
His Memphis golf tournament and bowling challenge events are held the week after Father's Day, a week of festivities that includes a visit to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital to hand out stuffed tigers, a free football camp for junior high and high school players and a comedy show in Tunica, Miss. Money raised from the golf and bowling events fund the football camp. The comedy show benefits Le Bonheur.
"I just needed a platform," Williams said. "They gave me the platform and allowed me to give back to the community. I'm going to continue to give back to the community. And I'm going to continue to give back to the University of Memphis because, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be where I am today."
