Early years

Williams attended Mattie T. Blount High School where as a senior he became the first running back in Alabama prep history to rush for over 3,000 yards in a season, after registering 3,004 rushing yards, 307 carries and 31 touchdowns. He also received All-State honors, while leading his team to the Class 5A state title.

He moved on to the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the 1992 National Championship team. He was named the starter as a junior, beginning the season with five straight 100-yard games and finishing the year with 738 rushing yards with nine touchdowns. In his senior season he rushed for 1,341 yards, for the second best mark in school history and became only the fourth player in Alabama history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season. His 291 carries broke the school record for a season and his 138.5 all-purpose yards-per-game ranked 16th best in the nation. He earned All-SEC and second team All-American honors in 1994.

Williams finished his college career with 2,486 rushing yards (fifth all-time in school history), 535 carries (third all-time in school history) and 27 rushing touchdowns (fourth all-time in school history). He is also remembered for his signature touchdown dance, the “Sherman Shake”.

Professional career

Entering the 1995 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys considered their roster so strong, that they drafted players based on their contributions as backups. The team traded their first round draft choice (28th overall) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two second-round picks (#41-Ron Davis and #63-Shane Hannah). The Cowboys selected Williams with their first choice in the second round, which was criticized by the media and quarterback Troy Aikman, for using a high selection on a backup player. As a rookie he was a part of the Super Bowl XXX championship team.

In 1997, he was expected to relieve more of Emmitt Smith's workload, but the additional playing time exposed him as fumble-prone.

Williams was released during the 1998 offseason, after the team signed Chris Warren to be the backup running back and improve their depth. After Warren strained his groin in preseason, the team re-signed Williams as insurance. He contributed by being third on the team on special teams tackles (17) and while Warren's injury forced him to miss eight regular season games, Williams stepped up against the New York Giants in Week 3, when he rushed for 61 yards on 20 carries (including an 18-yard touchdown run) and in the final game of the regular season against the Washington Redskins, when he rushed for 90 yards on 23 carries and also caught three passes for 19 yards.

In the 1999 preseason, after the Cowboys third team running back (Tarik Smith) suffered a season-ending knee surgery, Williams was once more re-signed, but was eventually released after the first game of the regular season.

Personal life

In 1999, he played semi-pro football with the Mobile Admirals of the Regional Football League. He was voted the league's MVP and helped his team reach the championship game.

In 2000, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and a separate plea for passing counterfeit currency. Saying that his time as a professional football player toughened him for prison, Williams said in a prison interview, "You know, I would think that things that would kill the average man wouldn't even make me flinch".

[ Source: Wikipedia ]