- published: 13 Feb 2015
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Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. (born May 21, 1977) is a former American football running back who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Texas, where he was a two-time All-American and won the Heisman Trophy. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2002. He played for the Dolphins for three seasons, and retired for the first time from football in 2004. Due to his suspension from the NFL in 2006, he played for the Toronto Argonauts in 2006. He re-joined the Dolphins in 2007 and played with them until 2010, and spent the 2011 season with the Baltimore Ravens.
Williams was born (with his twin sister Cassandra) in San Diego, California, to 19-year old Sandy Williams and her husband, 18-year old Errick Williams. Growing up middle-class, his parents divorced in 1983 and Williams, at the age of 5, was taking care of his sisters by putting them to bed and even cooking for them. Perhaps due to his broken home and the fact that his father was gone at such an early age, Williams suffered from anger issues that eventually led his mother to send him to counseling. He also struggled academically, despite a test he took as a six-year old which revealed that he had the intelligence of someone twice his age. Williams himself once said, "I was always very bright, but not necessarily a hard worker. I think I was in eighth grade when I became really focused as a student and started getting good grades." By high school Williams was an honor roll student and was named to the San Diego Union-Tribune All-Academic team.