LaQuan Williams

LaQuan Williams (born June 27, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Maryland. He was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

Early life
Williams was born on June 27, 1988 in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute where he played on the football team as a quarterback and safety and on the basketball team as a shooting guard. In football, Williams won three varsity letters and started for two seasons. He caught 10 interceptions each in both his junior and senior seasons. In his final year, he gained 804 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 630 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, and returned two punts and a kickoff for touchdowns. The Baltimore Sun named him a second-team All-City player as a junior and a first-team All-City defensive back as a senior. In basketball, Williams was a four-year letter winner and averaged over 20.0 points per game. Williams was recruited by Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and James Madison.

College career
Williams attended the University of Maryland, where he majored in American studies. He sat out his freshman season as a redshirt. During the 2007 season, he split time at the Z-receiver position with Isaiah Williams. Against No. 10 Rutgers, backup quarterback Chris Turner connected with Williams on two passes for 66 yards. Williams caught a spectacular diving reception for 27 yards that set up a score by running back Keon Lattimore for a 34–24 victory. After the game against No. 8 Boston College, Williams suffered a season ending MCL sprain during practice. The Sporting News named him to its ACC All-Freshman Team.

During the 2008 season, Williams was limited to action in three games as a reserve because of a foot injury. He was declared academically ineligible in early February 2009, but regained eligibility in time for spring practice and the 2009 season. He played in all 12 games including one as a starter. Against Rutgers, Williams caught a 24-yard touchdown pass.

Before the 2010 season, Williams beat out teammate Ronnie Tyler for the starting slot receiver position. He saw action in all 13 games, including three starts. Williams had twelve tackles on special teams and at the end of the season earned the special teams captain award. Against Wake Forest, Williams blocked a punt.

Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens signed Williams as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Making the roster completed a rather remarkable story for Williams. A Baltimore native who came from a poor background, with only moderate success in college due to injuries, and thus overlooked by many NFL scouts. Yet he was invited to Ravens training camp, and though only having a very short offseason to prepare due to the NFL lockout, he still made the active roster, and is now playing for the team he grew up as fan of.

In the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he made three catches for 46 yards and was the team's second leading receiver behind tight end Dennis Pitta. Because of injury to Lee Evans, Williams played several games of the 2011 season as the Ravens' third receiver, including the Sunday Night Football matchup which saw the team sweep their heated rival Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he notched two big receptions for first downs. Along with time at receiver, he has also been a special teams standout, recording 4 tackles in his rookie season while also returning 5 kicks for 109 yards on a 21.8 yard average in 2011.