Boo Williams
 Williams signs an autograph in 2006 | |||||||
| No. 100 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end, Wide receiver | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Date of birth: | June 22, 1979 | ||||||
| Place of birth: | Tallahassee, Florida | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 265 lb (120 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Tallahassee (FL) Lincoln | ||||||
| College: | Arkansas | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2001 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Career Arena statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
| Player stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||
Eddie Lee "Boo" Williams (born June 22, 1979) is a former American football tight end who played for the New Orleans Saints from 2001 to 2005. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks as a wide receiver.
College career
Williams played two seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, where he was a two-time All-American catching 83 passes for 1,687 yards and 21 touchdowns as a split end wide receiver. He then transferred to the University of Arkansas for the 1999 and 2000 seasons where he caught 80 receptions for 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns.[1]
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in | 237 lb | 4.72 s | 1.63 s | 2.73 s | 4.33 s | 7.10 s | 35 1⁄1 in | 9 ft 11 in | |||||||||||
| Measurables are from the 2001 NFL Scouting Combine.[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
New Orleans Saints
Williams was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New Orleans Saints on April 26, 2001 and soon began a conversion to the tight end position. Waived in September, then signed off the practice squad on October 27, he played in his first NFL game October 28 and made his first start the following week. He finished his first NFL season with 20 receptions for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns.[1]
Williams was the top pass-catching tight end for the Saints in 2002 with 13 catches for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns.[1]
Williams set career highs with 41 catches for 436 yards and 5 touchdowns during the 2003 season. He led the NFC in touchdowns among tight ends.[1]
Williams started a career-high 8 games in the 2004 season.[1]
Williams tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee during a 2005 preseason game and did not play the entire year. He was released in February 2006.[3]
New York Giants
Williams was signed by the New York Giants in June 2006 but waived before the regular season began.[3][4]
Kansas City Brigade
On January 19, 2007, Williams signed with the Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League. On March 3, 2008 he was placed on recallable waivers by the Brigade.
Life after football
Williams struggled with a multitude of depression, anger, and anxiety issues after retiring from football, the cause of which he attributes to head trauma sustained during his NFL career. After nearly taking his own life in 2011, Williams spent four months at the Crosby Center in San Diego for diagnosis and treatment of the problems he was suffering from. Williams later worked with the Crosby Center to help other NFL players dealing with similar issues post-retirement.[5][6]
Williams uses marijuana to treat the chronic pain and other health issues that have resulted from his career in the NFL. He co-founded the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition with former Saints teammate Kyle Turley to advocate for the NFL to remove marijuana from its list of banned substances. The organization is also involved with research to study the pain-relieving and neuroprotective benefits of the drug.[7][8]
Williams founded the Boo Williams Athletic Academy, an after-school program providing academic and athletic activities for children to engage in. Williams later closed the facility but hopes to re-open another in the future.[6]
Williams has worked as a bounty hunter and appeared in two episodes of the reality TV show Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "PLAYER BIO - BOO WILLIAMS". neworleanssaints.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2006.
- ↑ "Boo Williams, DS #18 TE, Arkansas". NFL Draft Scout. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- 1 2 Pasquarelli, Len (June 8, 2006). "Giants sign former Saints TE Boo Williams". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Boo Williams - Tight End". Rotoworld. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ↑ Rousseau, Randi (November 24, 2014). "Former Saints player becomes advocate for mental health after NFL run". WDSU 6 News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- 1 2 Patch, Lianna (January 2, 2015). "After the Game Ends". New Orleans Living Magazine. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ↑ Haglage, Abby (April 14, 2016). "Ex-NFL Players Rally Behind Medical Marijuana". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ↑ Downs, David (April 8, 2016). "Former NFL players end-run federal marijuana research blockade". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Boo Williams". IMDb. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.