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{{Short description|American football player (born 1968)}}
{{Use
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Aeneas Williams
| image = Aeneas Williams.jpg
| image_size = 200px▼
|
| caption = Williams with the Rams in 2004
▲| image_size = 200px
| number = 35▼
| position = [[Cornerback]] <br> [[
▲| number = 35
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|1|29|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[New Orleans]], Louisiana
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
|
| high_school = [[
| college = [[Southern Jaguars football|Southern]] (1988–1990)▼
| draftround = 3▼
|
▲| draftround = 3
▲| high_school = [[Alcee Fortier High School|New Orleans (LA) Fortier]]
| draftpick = 59
▲| college = [[Southern Jaguars football|Southern]]
| pastteams =
* [[History of the Arizona Cardinals#Early years (1988–89)|Phoenix]] / [[Arizona Cardinals]] (
* [[St. Louis Rams]] (
| highlights =
* 3× First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1995 All-Pro Team|1995]], [[1997 All-Pro Team|1997]], [[2001 All-Pro Team|2001]])
*
* 8× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1995 Pro Bowl|1994]]–[[2000 Pro Bowl|1999]], [[2002 Pro Bowl|2001]], [[2004 Pro Bowl|2003]])
* [[List of National Football League
* [[PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA All-Rookie Team#1991|1991]])▼
* [[NFL 1990s All-Decade Team]]
* [[Bart Starr Award]] (2000)▼
▲* [[PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA All-Rookie Team#1991|1991]])
* [[Arizona Cardinals#Ring of Honor|Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor]]
* [[St. Louis Rams awards#Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award|St. Louis Rams 10th Anniversary Team]]
▲* [[Bart Starr Award]] (2000)
▲| statlabel1 = [[Tackle (football move)|Tackles]]
▲| statvalue1 = 795
| statvalue2 = 55▼
▲| statlabel2 = [[Interceptions]]
| statlabel3 = Interception yards
▲| statvalue2 = 55
|
| statlabel4 = [[Pass deflected|Pass deflections]]
| statvalue3 = 3.0▼
▲| statvalue4 = 5
▲| statlabel5 = [[Touchdowns]]
| statlabel6 = Fumble recoveries
▲| statvalue5 = 13
| statvalue6 = 23
| statlabel7 = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| HOF = aeneas-williams▼
| statlabel8 = Total [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue8 = 13
| pfr = W/WillAe00
▲| HOF = aeneas-williams
}}
'''Aeneas Demetrius Williams''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|n|iː|ə|s}} {{respell|un|NEE|us}}; born January 29, 1968) is
==Early life==
Williams was born in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], to Lawrence and Lillian Williams. Aeneas is the youngest of 3 brothers, Malcolm and Achilles.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Darrell |date=August 19, 2014 |title=Aeneas Williams showed early promise at Fortier High School |url=https://www.nola.com/sports/high_schools/article_27fd6de0-4b95-5262-b569-7a9bc9ccb89b.html
==College career==
Williams was not offered a scholarship when he graduated high school. He attended [[Southern University]], the same school his brother Achilles attended, planning to simply get his accounting degree. "Our parents always expected that we would go to college and get our degree," he explained. "(Playing football) never crossed by mind, I was preparing for the rest of my life."<ref>{{Cite web |last=East |first=Les |date=August 15, 2014 |title=Aeneas Williams found himself at Southern |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/article_0a072679-207c-56f4-b15e-62874f82b79b.html |
At Southern, he concentrated on his academics, not playing football until his junior year. Eventually, after being encouraged by his old high school teammate [[Maurice Hurst (cornerback)|Maurice Hurst]], he decided to join the team as a walk-on. He started out playing mostly on special teams, but made the starting lineup in the 5th game. Williams kept his involvement with the football team a secret from his family until he made the travel squad for the 2nd game of the season. In the following season, Williams was named to the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference team after leading the conference with seven interceptions. In 1990, Williams stayed on the team as a [[graduate student]] and fifth year senior in order to improve his draft status. He made the ALL SAC team again and tied the [[NCAA Division I-AA|Division I-AA, (now known as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision)]] record for most interceptions with eleven.
Williams finished his college career with 20 interceptions and 28 pass deflections.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aeneas Williams – Hall of Fame |url=https://allstatesugarbowl.org/classic/aeneas-williams-hall-of-fame/
==Professional career==
{{
| height ft = 5
| height in =
| weight = 187
| dash = 4.57
| ten split = 1.62
| twenty split = 2.68
| shuttle = 4.30
| cone drill =
| vertical = 32.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in =
| bench = 12
| wonderlic =
| arm span = 30 1/2
| hand span = 8 7/8
| note = All values from [[NFL Combine]]<ref>{{
}}
Williams's numbers impressed the then-Phoenix Cardinals enough that they selected him in the third round of the [[1991 NFL Draft]], Williams quickly established himself with an exceptional rookie season, tying the NFC lead for interceptions. In 1994, he led the NFL in interceptions with 9. By [[1997 NFL season|1997]], Williams had already notched four [[Pro Bowl]] appearances and had established himself as the Cardinals' top cornerback, routinely covering the opponents' lead receivers. In the 1998 season, Williams helped the Cardinals win their first playoff game since 1947 by intercepting two passes from [[Troy Aikman]] in a 20–7 win over the [[Dallas Cowboys]], and added another interception in the Cardinals 41–21 loss in the divisional round. Despite playing mostly for bad teams (1998 was the only time he played on a winning team during his 10 years in Arizona), Williams was recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, making six Pro Bowls in all as a Cardinal. He is regarded as one of the best defenders and players in Cardinals history, as well as one of the greatest shutdown corners of all time. In 2000, he tied an NFL record, held by Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders, by returning a fumble (caused by [[Mark Maddox]]) 104 yards for a touchdown in a game against the [[Washington Redskins]].▼
▲Williams's numbers impressed the then-Phoenix Cardinals enough that they selected him in the third round of the [[1991 NFL
In Week 3 of the [[1999 NFL season|1999 season]], in a game played at [[Sun Devil Stadium]] and nationally televised on [[Monday Night Football]], Williams delivered the hit which ultimately ended Hall of Fame [[San Francisco 49ers]]' quarterback [[Steve Young (American football)|Steve Young]]'s career. Williams came in on a cornerback blitz from Young's blindside and scored a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit on Young. [[Running back]] [[Lawrence Phillips]] was supposed to block Williams, but missed. This left Young unconscious on the field for several minutes. Young suffered a severe concussion that effectively ended his career; he didn't play again for the rest of the season, after which the 49ers all but forced him to retire.▼
▲In Week 3 of the [[1999 NFL season|1999 season]], in a game played at [[Sun Devil Stadium]] and nationally televised on [[Monday Night Football]], Williams delivered the hit which ultimately ended Hall of Fame [[San Francisco 49ers]]' quarterback [[Steve Young (American football)|Steve Young]]'s career. Williams came in on a cornerback blitz from Young's blindside and scored a
In 2001, Williams was traded to the St. Louis Rams on draft day in exchange for picks in the second and fourth rounds.<ref>[http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/features_2000/spin_042301.asp Pro Football Weekly] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217103745/http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/features_2000/spin_042301.asp |date=February 17, 2006}}</ref> Due to roster concerns, Williams switched to free safety. As one of the leaders of a much-improved defense, Williams got a chance to play in the postseason for only the second time in his career. In the Rams' divisional playoff game against the [[Green Bay Packers]] prior to the Super Bowl, he returned two interceptions from Packers quarterback [[Brett Favre]] for touchdowns and recovered a fumble. Then in the NFC title game, he intercepted a pass from [[Philadelphia Eagles]] quarterback [[Donovan McNabb]], with 2 minutes left in regulation, clinching the game and ensuring the Rams' berth in [[Super Bowl XXXVI]]. However, the Rams lost that game to the [[New England Patriots]].
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==Post-playing career==
Williams was inducted into the Arizona Cardinals' Ring of Honor during the 2008–2009 football season during halftime of the Monday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers November 10, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Williams to Ring, McKinnon to Hall |url=http://archive.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/2008/05/07/20080507cardsnews.html
Williams is currently the founding pastor of Spirit Church in [[St. Ann, Missouri|St. Ann]], a suburb of St. Louis. He and his wife Tracy have three daughters Saenea (Aeneas spelled backwards), Tirzah, Cheyenne, and a son, Lazarus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's up with Aeneas Williams |url=http://archive.azcentral.com/sports/heatindex/articles/0520whatsup.html
Williams was a finalist for the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] classes of 2012 and 2013 but did not get voted in on the final ballots both times.<ref>{{
On September 24, 2014, Williams was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
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==Further reading==
* {{
==External links==
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[[Category:St. Louis Rams players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from New Orleans]]
[[Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportspeople]]
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