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Upton Tyrone Williams (born May 31, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Nebraska.
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
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| Born: | May 31, 1973 Bradenton, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 193 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Manatee (Bradenton) | ||||||||||
| College: | Nebraska | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1996 / round: 3 / pick: 93 | ||||||||||
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Williams attended Manatee High School, where he practiced football, basketball and track. In football, he was a two-way player at running back and cornerback. As a senior, he contributed to the team having a 12–1 record, along with teammate Tommie Frazier at quarterback.
He accepted A football scholarship from the University of Nebraska. He was forced to sit out his freshman season, due to the NCAA's Proposition 48 regulation.[1] As a sophomore, he became the starter at right cornerback in the fourth game, collecting 29 tackles (tenth on the team), 14 solo tackles, one interception and 3 passes defensed (led the team), while being was named Big Eight Co-Defensive Newcomer-of-the-Year as the Huskers defensive player of the year.[2] In the national championship game against Florida State University, he had career highs with 9 tackles (8 solo) and 3 passes defensed.
As a junior, he missed the game against West Virginia University. He finished with 38 tackles (eleventh on the team), 31 solo tackles, 3 interceptions (second on the team) and 5 passes defensed (second on the team). As a senior, he tallied 28 tackles (19 solo), one tackle for loss, one interception, 3 passes defensed, one quarterback hurry and one fumble recovery.
During his college career he recorded 95 tackles, 5 interceptions and 11 passes defensed, while contributing to a 36–1 record, 2 national championships and 3 Big Eight Conference titles.[3]
In 2006, he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
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Green Bay Packers
Williams was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round (93rd overall) of the 1996 NFL draft.[4] As a rookie reserve behind Doug Evans, he made 25 tackles during the regular season and 3 more in the playoffs. He also had 4 passes defensed during the playoffs and made a critical interception late in the first half of the Packers 30-13 NFC championship win over the Carolina Panthers. He was a reserve for the Super Bowl XXXI winning team.
In 1997, he became a fulltime starter at left cornerback after Craig Newsome suffered a left knee injury in the season opener. In 1998, he was named the starter at right cornerback alongside Newsome and led the team with 5 interceptions.
From 1998 to 2001, he posted at least 4 interceptions every season. He appeared in 111 out of 112 games with 94 starts, finishing with 445 tackles, 19 interceptions and 92 passes defensed.[5]
Atlanta Falcons
On March 16, 2003, he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons to a four-year $10.3 million contract with a $3 million signing bonus, to replace Ashley Ambrose at right cornerback.[6] He reported overweight for training camp and was suspended for the fifth game against the Minnesota Vikings.[7]
Williams started in only six games and was benched for the entire second half of the season, being declared inactive for the final nine contests. He registered 20 tackles, 2 passes defensed and no interceptions. He was released on June 2, 2004.[8]
Dallas Cowboys
On September 30, 2004, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent for depth purposes, after Pete Hunter was lost for the season with a left knee injury.[9] He passed Jacques Reeves on the depth chart, starting 2 games at right cornerback, making 6 tackles and one sack. On November 13, he was waived with a hamstring injury he suffered in the seventh game against the Detroit Lions and was later placed on the injured reserve list on November 15.[10] He was released on December 14.
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Williams founded a sports management company named TruPros, to help players deal with the balance of life and football. He has also undergone a divorce.[11]
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