to paraphrase dean wormer.. mike.. being fat and last is no way to go through life son.. Mike Williams had hard time 'being a pro' with Lions
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Mike Williams can admit it now. The year of football he missed in 2004 when he unsuccessfully applied for the NFL Draft as a college sophomore took its toll on his pro career.
Williams and former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett originally challenged and won the right to enter the draft that year, but later an appeals court overturned that ruling. When the NCAA would not allow Williams to play again for Southern California, he was left in no man’s land for a year until he was drafted tenth overall by the
Detroit Lions in 2005.
“I think what I lost the most wasn’t anything football related; it was the structure,” said Williams, now 24 and trying to resurrect his career with the
Tennessee Titans. “Being a part of a routine and having a regimen and having a set schedule of being here for how long and being there for how long. That was my main thing that I struggled with for awhile. I struggled with it.
“I got better about it at the end of my first year, but the second year I got right back into [being late]. It was the structure. That was the main thing that hurt me, just the structure and waking up and commitment. What do they call it? Being a pro. Having a year off from that, that was the main thing that hurt me.”
With the Lions, Williams selected jersey #88, which had been retired in honor of Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders. He was supposed to form part of a stellar trio of receivers including Charles Rogers, no longer with the team, and Roy Williams.
As a rookie in 2005, Mike Williams appeared in 14 games with four starts. He finished his rookie season with 29 receptions for 350 yards and one touchdown.
In 2006, Williams was on the inactive list for both of the Lions' first two games. He played in just eight games in the 2006 season, and made eight catches for 99 yards and one touchdown.
During his time with the Lions, Williams was frequently fined for being late for meetings and other such transgressions. He also battled with the team over his weight, with the Lions claiming he was too heavy. The Lions were all too happy to trade him to Oakland as part of a package during draft weekend last year.
When he got to the Raiders, he didn’t last long there either and was released after dropping a key fourth-down pass against the Titans in October. Williams signed a two-year deal with the Titans on Thanksgiving Day, but did not catch a pass in two games. He was deactivated for the final weeks of the season, even though Tennessee was shorthanded at receiver due to injuries.
At season’s end, Williams, who weighed more than 270 pounds when signed in November, was told matter-of-factly by Coach Jeff Fisher to get in shape or get released again.
He said he has lost more than 30 pounds and hopes to show the “experts” who said the Titans needed to spend an early pick on a receiver, that that is not necessarily the case.
“That’s the only thing I could control,” he said of his conditioning. “I couldn’t control the draft. I didn’t know if they would take a receiver at No. 1. I just had to control what I could control and that was me coming back in shape and that would let them know that, ‘Hey, we might not have to draft one [early].’ I’m not saying that the way I came back made their decision not to draft one, and I’m not saying it did. But it didn’t matter if they drafted one or not, I’m going to compete regardless
![](http://www.dabearz.com/forums/images/gifts/medal.gif "A hero can joke about that "kind of loss" - BULLITT")
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