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Washington football: 5 great players who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

By Cody Williams

PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Quarterback Jake Locker #10 of the Washington Huskies in action against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 26, 2009 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Quarterback Jake Locker #10 of the Washington Huskies in action against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 26, 2009 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /
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Washington football, NFL busts
Washington football (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Arriving in Seattle for the 2001 season, there was never a moment where it wasn’t clear that wide receiver Reggie Williams was going to be a major part of the Huskies offense. In his true freshman season, he flashed in a huge way with 55 receptions for 973 yards, though he did only score three touchdowns on the season. It was undeniably a sign of things to come for the Washington pass-catcher as he won Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the Year.

Williams actually peaked in his sophomore season with the Huskies, which isn’t a slight on the other two years he spent in the program. The wide receiver had 94 catches for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named a Consensus All-American and named a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection as well.

Despite taking a step back as a junior with the Huskies, Williams was able to still earn First-Team All-Pac-10 honors for the 2003 season and was named team MVP. He continued his prolific career as he hauled in 89 catches for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns. Williams finished his time at Washington as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards while tying for fourth in receiving touchdowns.

After that type of career, the 6-foot-4 wideout was selected No. 9 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. While he exploded for 10 touchdowns in 2007, he had more than 38 catches in a season just once (2006) with only 2,322 career yards. Furthermore, he lasted just five seasons in the league before never playing another NFL snap.

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