Torri Williams

Torri Sherrod Williams (born August 29, 1986) is an American football safety for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Purdue.

Early years
Four year letterman at Leander High School in Cedar Park, Texas. Ranked as No. 51 wide receiver in nation by Rivals.com ... All-Central Texas and unanimous first team all-district selection as senior after catching 79 passes for 1,841 yards (23.3 average) and 14 touchdowns ... came up with four interceptions ... played on three district championship teams ... coach was Steve Gideon.

College years
He played for the Pudue University (Boilermaker) during his college career both as a safety and cornerback. Williams Quoting Coach Anarumo: "Allows the defense to be multi-faceted because he can play safety and cornerback ... brings great leadership and experience to the defensive backs."

2004: Appeared in nine games as reserve and on special teams ... had 14 tackles (13 solo, 1 assist), including 1.0 sack, with one interception and one pass breakup ... broke up pass at Northwestern on Oct. 30 ... came up with three tackles (all solo), including sack, and interception at Iowa on Nov. 6 ... had three tackles (2 solo, 1 assist) vs. Ohio State on Nov. 13 ... recorded season-high six tackles (all solos) vs. Arizona State in Sun Bowl on Dec. 31. 2005: Did not play after suffering broken right fibula (lower leg) during spring season. 2006: Started vs. Indiana State on Sept. 2 before suffering season-ending dislocated right knee during third quarter ... had two solo tackles prior to injury.

2007: Appeared in seven games ... had 17 tackles (11 solo, 6 assists), including 1.5 for loss and 1.0 sack, with two interceptions, one pass breakup and one forced fumble ... came up with interception at Toledo on Sept. 1 ... recorded four tackles (all solo) vs. Central Michigan on Sept. 15 ... had sack vs. Notre Dame on Sept. 29 ... had interception vs. Ohio State on Oct. 6 ... ruptured left Achilles tendon at Michigan on Oct. 13 and was sidelined for rest of season. 2008: Honorable mention All-Big Ten by coaches and media ... started all 12 games ... ranked tied for 10th in Big Ten with two forced fumbles and 11th with average of 6.9 tackles per game ... shared team lead with two interceptions (also Dwight Mclean), two forced fumbles (also Frank Duong and Ryan Kerrigan) and one fumble recovery (also nine other players) ... ranked second with 83 tackles (54 solo, 29 assists) and third with six pass break ups ... came up with nine tackles (8 solo, 1 assist), career-high two pass breakups and a forced fumble vs. Oregon on Sept. 13 ... had career-high 11 tackles (9 solo, 2 assists) at Northwestern on Oct. 18 ... recorded nine tackles (3 solo, 6 assists) and an interception at Michigan State on Nov. 8 ... recovered fumble at Iowa on Nov. 15 ... received team's Pop Doan Award -Defense (top performance against Indiana) after recording seven solo tackles, an interception and a forced fumble vs. Hoosiers on Nov. 22. 2009: Granted sixth year of eligibility by NCAA ... team co-captain.

Professional years
Houston Texans Rookie watch

Safety Torri Williiams, an undrafted rookie from Purdue, was one of the stars of the Texans’ Saturday morning practice at the Methodist Training Center. Williams (6-2, 209) intercepted two passes, both off quarterback John David Booty, and ran one back for a touchdown. He also broke up a pass from quarterback Dan Orlovsky in the end zone. The Texans signed Williams as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and he played safety. He wound up on the practice squad and was called up to the active roster in November, then suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in his first game.

“Anybody that was out there watching him practice today saw that Torri had a couple big plays in the pass game,” defensive backs coach David Gibbs said. “He’s a true middle-of-the-field, rangy safety with excellent ball skills. He’s been improving every day. We knew when he first showed up in OTAs, we thought he had a chance to be a pretty good player and he had a chance to make our football team.”

“That’s why he didn’t get drafted,” Gibbs said. Ray Rhodes had a high opinion of him and I had a high opinion of him, too. We liked him as a player. He played corner in their nickel situations and played free safety in their base defense. Very athletic. Got really good ball skills, which you saw today in practice.”

2011, the Texans tried Williams at corner in their preseason finale. They released him a few days later but signed him back to the practice squad in October 2011. "In 2012, On Wednesday, Texans coach Gary Kubiak mentioned four young players who have stood out to him so far during organized team activities (OTAs). One of those players was Torri Williams, an undrafted free agent out of Purdue in 2010. Williams (6-2, 210) is playing cornerback after being listed at safety in his first two seasons with the Texans". “For a guy who’s only played corner for a little bit of time, he’s showed great movement stuff, great awareness,” Texans defensive backs coach Vance Joseph said on Thursday. “He’s got some size, so I’m excited about Torri getting more reps in OTAs and coming into camp ready to compete. “I think his best chance of making the team is at corner, in my opinion. And a big guy with movement skills like that, why waste him playing safety? I think his natural position is corner, so it’s the best thing for Torri, and for us, obviously.”