Carnell Williams

:"Cadillac Williams" redirects here. For the jazz trumpeter also known as Cadillac Williams, see Nelson Williams."Infobox NFLactive

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caption=Carnell Williams in his college days at Auburn
currentteam=Tampa Bay Buccaneers
currentnumber=24
currentposition=Running back
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|4|21
birthplace=Gadsden, Alabama
heightft=5
heightin=11
weight=217
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Tampa Bay Buccaneers
highlights=
* 9x SEC Player of the Week
* AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2005)
* Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year (2005)
college=Auburn
draftyear=2005
draftround=1
draftpick=5
pastteams=
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005-present)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Rushing yards
statvalue1=2,184
statlabel2=Rushing average
statvalue2=3.8
statlabel3=Rushing TDs
statvalue3=10
nfl=WIL179825

Carnell Lamar "Cadillac" Williams (born April 21, 1982 in Gadsden, Alabama) is an American football running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL and a former running back for the Auburn Tigers.

Collegiate career

Williams came out of high school as a very highly rated and very heavily recruited player. He originally committed to the University of Tennessee but changed when Auburn University football head coach Tommy Tuberville visited Williams personally at his home in Gadsden, Alabama and convinced him to play football at Auburn.

Williams moved on to Auburn University after graduating high school to play college football and major in Sociology. When the season started in 2001, he was a true freshman, and the #3 running back on the depth chart, but in the 8th game of the season he had a break-out game against the University of Arkansas and showed his outstanding talent and versatility as a running back. After the Arkansas game, Williams was promoted to starting running back. Williams didn't miss a beat and in the next game, the annual Deep South's Oldest Rivalry game against the University of Georgia, he led Auburn to an exciting victory as he amassed 179 yards on an Auburn record 41 carries in one game, and scored 2 touchdowns one of which was the game winner. Unfortunately for Williams, he was injured early in the bitter in-state rivalry game against the University of Alabama (also known as the Iron Bowl) with a broken collar bone and had to sit out the rest of the season. Before breaking his collarbone, Williams played in nine games and finished the season with 614 yards on 120 carries (5.1 avg.) and six touchdowns.

The 2002 season started out as a very impressive and promising season for Williams, but unfortunately, it also ended prematurely for him when he broke his lower left fibula against Florida and missed the last six games of the season. He was able to amass 745 yards on 141 attempts (5.3 avg.) and 10 touchdowns in only seven games prior to the injury.

In 2003, Williams was told that he would share the load at the running back position with fellow running back Ronnie Brown after Brown had a stellar season the last year after picking up the starting role at runningback when Williams went down with a broken ankle. However, when Brown pulled a hamstring early on in the year, he sat out most of the rest season, leaving Williams as the sole starting runningback. Williams went on to have a sensational season setting an Auburn single-season record with 17 touchdowns, and gaining a career high 1,307 yards on 241 attempts (5.4 avg.). The 2003 season was an important season for Williams seeing as it showed that he could stay healthy and still excel on the field on his own.

In 2004, Williams decided to return for his senior year at Auburn. This turned out to be a wise decision as he along with quarterback, Jason Campbell and fellow running back, Ronnie Brown and others, helped lead the tigers to an SEC Championship and Sugar Bowl winning season with a perfect 13-0 record and finishing a controversial #2 ranking team in the nation behind the University of Southern California (USC). Williams went on to earn All-American honors and was named to the All-SEC first team as both a running back and return specialist. He led the team in rushing for the third time (excluding the 2002 season when he got hurt and Ronnie Brown started) with 1,165 yards on 239 carries (4.9 avg.) and scored 12 touchdowns. He also finished the season with 1,718 all-purpose yards, the third highest single-season output in Auburn school history. Williams also threw one touchdown pass as a senior, against Georgia. Some argue that Williams senior year performance was not as good statistically (4.9 yard rushing average for example, the lowest in his college career) as his others because of poor blocking, while others argue that it was because of all the defenses focusing on him specifically even before the game.

Williams finished his collegiate career with 3,831 yards on 741 attempts (5.2 yards per attempt) and 45 touchdowns, breaking the all-time Auburn career records of most rushing attempts by Joe Cribbs (657), and most touchdowns by Bo Jackson (43), while finishing second in total rushing yards in a career behind Bo Jackson. His career total of 5,033 all-purpose yards also ranks second in school history behind James Brooks.

Williams also has the distinction of earning nine SEC Player of the Week honors in his career, the most in conference history.

Collegiate statistics

Controversy

Williams was mentioned prominently in a July 14, 2006 "New York Times" article by Pete Thamel. [http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/sports/060714/grades.shtml] , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A10F635540C778DDDAE0894DE404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fA%2fAuburn%20University] [http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1152869101135750.xml&coll=2] based on allegations by Auburn sociology professor James Gundlach of inappropriate independent study courses being offered by fellow professor and then-department chair Thomas Petee. Gundlach found Petee had managed 250 independent study courses in the 2004-2005 academic year including some by athletes, specifically noting 18 football players (only 7.5% of the students taking such courses from Petee). The University's internal investigation of the situation resulted in new policies limiting the number of independent study courses managed by a professor and in the resignation of Petee. [http://www.ocm.auburn.edu/news_releases/directupdate.html] For his part, Williams was highlighted as having taken only two classes in the spring of 2005 (having already completed his collegiate eligibility and preparing for the NFL draft) both independent study courses under the supervision of Petee.

External links

* [http://www.cadillacwilliams.com/ CadillacWilliams.com]
*
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/423701 NFL.com Player Page]
* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/WillCa02.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com] - Current Stats
* [http://www.ahsaa.com/records/football-indiv.asp]
* [http://www.juicedsportsblog.com/2007/08/cadillac-williams-herniated-disks.html ESPN's Will Carroll Says Williams Has Herniated Disks]