Tag: Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams “smoked” the competition en route to a Heisman

“I wouldn’t have won the Heisman without it (marijuana)”

Ricky Williams will forever be a Texas legend after winning the Heisman  and becoming the Longhorns all-time leading rusher. One could say that he is certainly high in the record books. Catch my drift?

His method to becoming a Heisman winner and having such a successful football career were different than most.

Since his playing career ended, Williams has publicly been an advocate for athletes using marijuana as a form of recovery. Recently, the former Texas star expressed to Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop that marijuana was actually the key to his success when he won the Heisman Trophy.

Williams was blunt about his usage, as he explained to Bishop that sports and society were not as understanding of marijuana at the time. It meant they were not privy to the fact that it could be used for anxiety and as a form of recovery.

Anxiety and recovery were the two primary reasons Williams turned to marijuana. He emphasized that without marijuana, his body would not have been able to withstand the grueling pain after games and practices. Williams mentioned that he also suffered from social anxiety.

Williams is now in the process of producing his own brand of cannabis called “Highsmith.” He has also been vocal about the suspension of track star Sha’carri Richardson, who was suspended due to a positive marijuana test that she took during the U.S. Olympic Trials when grieving the loss of her mother.

The Texas legend knows firsthand about having a career interfered with because of marijuana policies, as he faced numerous suspensions in the NFL. He was suspended five times in his NFL career for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, causing him to miss two seasons worth of games.

Even with all the suspensions and backlash, Williams amassed 10,000 yards rushing and 74 touchdowns during his 11-year professional career. He believes that these numbers are Hall of Fame worthy, but he cites the NFL’s no cannabis policy as the reason for why he was unable to be elected.

Throughout his last two collegiate seasons with Texas, Williams rushed for 4,017 yards and 52 touchdowns.

10 college stars that would have struck gold if profiting off NIL was allowed

If profiting off of NIL was allowed, these former college stars would have made bank!

There is a new era in college sports now that athletes can profit off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) after the July 1st passing.

The old days of arguing that college athletes should be paid are over, as college stars across the nation are already pulling in the big bucks. Texas running back Bijan Robinson is making Cameo appearances for $100, Miami quarterback D’eriq King has his own brand, and rapper Master P’s son Hercy Miller (who has yet to take a shot at Tennessee State) is a millionaire thanks to a four-year, $2 million endorsement deal with tech company Web Apps America.

So long to that easy persuasive essay topic for students.

Although the passing of the rule is long overdue, there are countless college stars of the past who would have needed the brinks trucks in order to hold all their money.

There are obviously too many to chose from, but I’ve went ahead and listed 10 that are likely the cream of the crop. Before we take a look, it is mandatory to credit Donald de la Haye, the UCF Kicker who chose to forgo college football for YouTube. He has long been a talking point of the movement and it is unfortunate he had to give up playing the sport he loved.

Here are 10 athletes that likely would have cashed in the big bucks if profiting off of NIL was allowed during their collegiate careers:

Texas Football: A look at the six retired jersey numbers

Taking a look at the Longhorn legends who had their numbers retired after a stellar collegiate career at the University of Texas.

If you’re blessed to have your jersey number retired, it’s an honor that immortalizes a player in the record books of their team or school.

It’s something that only legends of a program are able to achieve. Oftentimes, great players are even left out. It has to be an indescribable feeling to know that the number can longer be worn by anyone else that follows in your footsteps. For example, in Major League Baseball, the No. 42 is retired to honor Jackie Robinson.

The Longhorns have retired a total of six numbers in their football programs history. There have been other great players that have graced the Forty Acres, but did not have the impact that these six had.

Let’s take a look at who the Texas football program has immortalized:

Texas Football: A look at the six retired jersey numbers

Taking a look at the Longhorn legends who had their numbers retired after a stellar collegiate career at the University of Texas.

If you’re blessed to have your jersey number retired, it’s an honor that immortalizes a player in the record books of their team or school.

It’s something that only legends of a program are able to achieve. Oftentimes, great players are even left out. It has to be an indescribable feeling to know that the number can longer be worn by anyone else that follows in your footsteps. For example, in Major League Baseball, the No. 42 is retired to honor Jackie Robinson.

The Longhorns have retired a total of six numbers in their football programs history. There have been other great players that have graced the Forty Acres, but did not have the impact that these six had.

Let’s take a look at who the Texas football program has immortalized:

Jerome Baker’s first Dolphins jersey may have also been yours!

Jerome Baker’s first Dolphins jersey may have also been yours!

The Miami Dolphins took to social media this weekend to ask their fans a vital question that every sports fan must answer:

“What was your first Dolphins jersey?

Team jerseys are a staple of fan attire on game day as fans look to represent not just their favorite teams, but their favorite players, too. And given the attention paid to jersey sales (and the volume of said sales), it would appear as though many fans are destined to secure at least one jersey along the way of being a sports fan.

But sometimes, such as in the case of Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker, a first jersey can be an omen of foreshadowing — because Baker himself responded to the tweet. And, surprisingly, Baker’s first career Miami Dolphins jersey was not a ‘Jerome Baker, #55’. No, according to Baker, his first career Miami Dolphins jersey was a ‘Ricky Williams, #34’!

There were plenty of young Dolphins fans who were born in the late 1980s and early 1990s who probably got gifted a Ricky Williams Dolphins jersey in the aftermath of Miami’s mega-deal for Williams or, alternatively after he claimed the NFL’s rushing title in 2002 — only to have their collective hearts broken when Williams abruptly announced his retirement from the NFL just ahead of the start of the 2004 NFL season. The Dolphins, without Williams, promptly crumbled and finished the season at 4-12.

But fortunately this story has a happy ending, as Williams returned from retirement and went on to rush for over 10,000 yards in his career in the NFL; making those ‘Ricky Williams, #34’ jerseys the subject of plenty of positive memories and not just heartbreak. And for any kids whose first Dolphins jersey is a ‘Jerome Baker, #55’? Who knows, perhaps your future is being told just as Baker’s was way back when.

Texas running back Bijan Robinson discusses Heisman Trophy hopes

The Heisman Trophy has not called Austin, Texas, home since the 1998 season. RB Bijan Robinson will have the opportunity to change that.

College football’s most prestigious award has not called Austin, Texas, home since the 1998 season. Running back Ricky Williams won the Heisman Trophy after rushing for 2,124 yards and 27 touchdowns, joining Earl Campbell as the only two Longhorns to win the trophy.

Former quarterback Vince Young was the runner-up to Reggie Bush’s eventual stripped award in 2005, while Colt McCoy finished second in 2008 and third in 2009.

Since then, Texas has not come close to sniffing a potential Heisman candidate. A decade of mediocre football may have caused this, but even the special talent being recruited never lived up to expectations.

That’s until running back Bijan Robinson stepped foot on campus. From his high school tape and numbers alone, figuring out he is special was not difficult. After his first full season for the Longhorns, it’s clear that the next great Texas running back is ready to break out to the rest of the country.

After seeing how Steve Sarkisian used Najee Harris last season at Alabama, Robinson has the chance to have a historic season. History was already broken during his freshman season, as Robinson holds the record for the most yards per carry in Texas football during a season at 8.2.

Here is what Robinson had to say about Heisman hopes:

“I know there’s a lot of hype around the Heisman Trophy and all that stuff, but I don’t pay attention to that stuff. If you start paying attention, you start getting a big head and wont work as hard.”

Wide receiver has been a position of concern for Texas throughout spring practice. Even if one of the quarterbacks emerges as a starter and can elevate his receivers, Robinson is going to be heavily relied on. The opportunity to put up gaudy numbers will be there.

“I feel like he’s utilizing us in every single way that he can, and it’s been a good look ever since he’s been here,” Robinson said of Sarkisian.

Even if Robinson will not say it out loud, getting to New York has to be one of the few dreams he brought with him to Texas. He’ll have two, possibly three, seasons to see his dreams come true.

Journalist recalls wild chase of Ricky Williams after 2004 retirement

Journalist recalls wild chase of Ricky Williams after 2004 retirement

The saga of former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams is not one that any fan of the team would soon forget. If you were old enough to recall the story, odds are the story will never leave your memory. Ricky Williams, two years after the Miami Dolphins traded the farm to acquire him, retired at the age of 27 and completely fell off the map. His retirement, which came in the eleventh hour before Dolphins training camp was set to get underway, blindsided the Dolphins and cast them into a tailspin. Dave Wannstedt’s team would start the year 1-8 before the head coach was fired.

There were few winners in this portion of the history between Williams and the Dolphins. Miami, after spending two 1st-round picks and change to acquire Williams, saw their star player disappear into thin air. The Dolphins were ill prepared for such a decision and the team fell apart. Jobs were lost. Investments sunk. Williams himself was struggling with his own personal demons and needed to escape the limelight and pressure of being a bell cow, franchise running back.

But one winner of the ordeal was clearly Chris Jones, the journalist formerly of Esquire. Jones went on social media yesterday to recall what came after Williams’ abrupt retirement: his sanctioned pursuit of Williams courtesy of his employer to go get Ricky’s side of the story. We’ll let you follow the chain of tweets attached below to read Jones’ recollection of a wild chase.

But if you want the abridged version, Jones got permission from Ricky to interview him — if he could find him. And Williams’ whereabouts at the time were considered completely unknown, resulting in a wild story akin to hunting for a needle in a haystack. It’s a fun read.

Ricky himself enjoyed the recollection of the hunt of the most mysterious man in football back in 2004; so much so that he invited Jones onto his podcast to relive the week they shared together after Jones managed to find Williams in Australia.

Perhaps the only thing more brilliant than the story of finding Williams after his retirement was the reclamation story. Ricky would return to football in 2005 and rush for 753 yards and 6 scores in 12 games — serving as one half of the backfield duo between he and Ronnie Brown that would define the Dolphins’ backfield for the rest of the decade. Then, of course, came yet another failed drug test and a full season suspension in 2006. 2007 yielded a torn pectoral muscle after just 6 carries as a 30-year old running back as a part of Miami’s miserable 1-15 campaign.

But then, miraculously, Williams bounced back for 2,453 rushing yards between 2008-2010 (including 1,121 & 11 touchdowns in 2009) in his first stretch of three consecutive seasons with 16 games played since 2001-2003. And after a 2011 stint with the Baltimore Ravens, Williams retired for good. With, somehow, over 10,000 career rushing yards; placing him 31st overall on the career rushing yardage list all-time to this day. That’s quite the feat when you consider he logged just 758 yards over 4 seasons from 2004-2007 in the physical prime of his career.

Cheers to Ricky and cheers to Chris Jones for providing Dolphins fans a fun distraction for an afternoon this offseason.

Top moments of Bijan Robinson’s freshman year for Texas

There plenty of excitement for Bijan Robinson going into his sophomore season. A look at the top moments in his freshman year.

The college football season might be seven months away but that doesn’t take away from the excitement around the Forty Acres. The Texas Longhorns made a change at head coach bringing in Steve Sarkisian from the Alabama Crimson Tide, fresh off a National Championship. The burnt orange excitement has reached a fever pitch.

One of the reasons why is that Sarkisian utilized a top running back in Najee Harris for the last two years. In 2021 he inherits one of the best young running backs in the country. Bijan Robinson was on full display down the stretch, especially in the final two games of the season where he accounted for 443 yards and six touchdowns. Four rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.

From the moment that Robinson’s letter of intent was sent to the University of Texas, there was a level of excitement. The man dubbed ‘Little Ricky’ but Ricky Williams himself had a high level of expectations. Not even those with the highest level of expectations for the five-star running back out of Arizona were fully prepared for his performances in 2020.

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A look at some of the best moments of the freshman season for Bijan Robinson.

Where does former Texas RB Ricky Williams rank among recent Heisman winners?

USA TODAY Sports ranked the recent Heisman winners and former Texas running back Ricky Williams slid into the top 10.

Former Texas running back Ricky Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998. Continue reading “Where does former Texas RB Ricky Williams rank among recent Heisman winners?”

Could the all-time leader rusher at Texas return to the playing field?

According to our colleagues at Touchdown Wire, Texas Longhorns all-time leading rusher in Ricky Williams could return to the field.

According to a new upstart called Fan Controlled Football League, they are in talks with former Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. The man who at one time set the NCAA’s all-time rushing record hasn’t stepped on a football field to play a game since 2011.

According to our colleagues at the Touchdown Wire, Williams isn’t the only former NFL star in discussions to join.

It would represent a remarkable feat if either player does return to the field to play for the FCFL. Williams, 43, last played in the NFL in the 2011 season. Urlacher, 42, last appeared in an NFL game in 2012.

The team called the Zappers are currently in negotiations with Williams.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI3fE8ljpBu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Williams signed with the Texas Longhorns during the 1995 recruiting cycle and would be a major factor in their success over the first three years of the newly formed Big 12 Conference. Williams accounted for 7,206 yards from scrimmage and 75 total touchdowns during his Longhorns career. He won the Heisman Trophy in his final season before heading to the NFL.

Williams would play in the NFL from 1999-2011 but would miss the 2004 and 2006 seasons. Overall he rushed for 10,009 yards and 66 touchdowns. He accounted for a total of 12,615 yards and 74 touchdowns in his NFL career. He left football at the age of 34. Now he works for ESPN as part of the crew on Longhorn Network.

It would be interesting to see if Ricky Williams could still tote the rock for this upstart league. One that would seem to be high quality entertainment.