| Brennan Williams | |
| Ring name(s) | Brennan Williams Dio Maddin Marcellus Black[1] |
|---|---|
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 286 lb (130 kg)[2] |
| Born | February 5, 1991 North Easton, Massachusetts, United States |
| Billed from | The Savage Lands of Shaolin[2] |
| Trained by | Booker T Reality of Wrestling |
| Debut | February 1, 2016 |
Brennan Marcel Williams[1] (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and former professional football offensive tackle currently signed to WWE, performing in their developmental territory NXT under the name Dio Maddin. He previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Marcellus Black.[1]
Prior to beginning his professional wrestling career, Williams was drafted by the Houston Texans of the National Football League in the third round (89th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina.
Early life[]
Williams was born in North Easton, Massachusetts and attended Catholic Memorial School.
While at Catholic Memorial, Williams was a member of PrepStar's High School All-America team, a member of the "Super 26" team in 2008, an all-scholastic by the Boston Globe and Boston Herald. He was named all-conference as both a junior and senior. He was rated as the eight best offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep All-America. Rivals.com rated him the seventh best offensive guard in the country. Scout.com rated him as the 15th best offensive lineman in the country. ESPN.com rated him the 35th best offensive tackle in the country. He was also a member of the Rivals 250. He also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[3]
On February 15, 2014, Williams's number 73 was retired by Catholic Memorial.[3]
Football career[]
| No. 73, 65 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 318 lb (144 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial | ||||
| College: | North Carolina | ||||
| NFL Draft: | 2013 / Round: 3 / Pick: 89 | ||||
Career history
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Career highlights and awards
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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College[]
Williams received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he received honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors.[3] Williams tore his labrum his senior year of college.[4] Williams majored in communications while attending North Carolina.[5]
Professional[]
Houston Texans[]
The Houston Texans selected Williams in the third round with the 89th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.[6] He would go on to miss his rookie season with a microfracture in his knee.[3] On July 21, 2014, he was released.[7]
Jacksonville Jaguars[]
On February 20, 2015, Williams was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, to a two-year contract, with the intention of being a back up to starter Jeremy Parnell.[8] On August 29, 2015, Williams was released by Jacksonville.[9]
New England Patriots[]
On October 20, 2015, the New England Patriots signed Williams to their practice squad. They waived him two days later.[10]
Professional wrestling career[]
Reality of Wrestling (2016)[]
After being released by the Patriots, Williams returned to Houston to train to become a professional wrestler.[10] On October 27, 2015, it was announced that Williams was being trained by WWE star Booker T to become a professional wrestler.[11]
He made his debut with Reality of Wrestling on February 1, 2016, under the ring name of Marcellus Black.
WWE[]
NXT (2016–present)[]
On February 11, 2016, Williams participated in a WWE try-out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[12] On August 1, 2016, WWE officially announced the signing of Williams, who started training at the Performance Center the same day.[13][14]
He made his in-ring debut for the company at a NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 2016, competing in a battle royal.[15] In June of 2019, Brennan was given the new name of "Dio Maddin".
Personal life[]
Williams is the son of Jacquelyn and former NFL defensive end Brent Williams. He is married with children.[16]
Growing up, Williams was a fan of professional wrestling.[1] He was a fan of Eddie Guerrero and The Great Muta.[1] He is also a fan of anime and manga.[17]
Other media[]
Williams has appeared in various streams on the YouTube channel The Third Wheel, most notably in the role of The Batsu Sama, the scariest person in the world.[18][19] Recently he joined the main series of the channel Thrilling Intent, as a steely assassin named Harlock, with a bionic arm and a love for traps, as well as another series on the channel, No Smarts But Hearts, where he plays the prestigious Clover Von Krone, a warm-natured, but incredibly strong member of the elite Adventurer Knights. [20] Brennan has done collaborations with the internet channel Super Best Friends Play, where his shared interests and resemblance to channel member Woolie Madden have earned him the nickname "Better Woolie".
He has also voice acted in various videos, such as "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2 - Did You Know Anime?" by Did You Know Anime,[21] and "Welcome to YouTube Comments (2016) - Part 1" by JelloApocalypse.[22]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "NFL's Brennan Williams Now Wrestling as "Marcellus Black"". Title Match Wrestling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGaiVWV3cck. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Marcellus Black Wrestling Debut: The Shogun of the Row". Title Match Wrestling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjipnylI3oE.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hall, Brendan C. (February 15, 2014). "Texans' Williams gets number retired at CM". http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/high-school/post/_/id/30107/texans-williams-gets-number-retired-at-cm.
- ↑ "Brennan Williams, OT". CBS Sports. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1664351/brennan-williams. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brennan WIlliams". UNC. http://www.goheels.com/fls/3350/Football/Williams,B_Bio.pdf?SPID=12962&DB_OEM_ID=3350. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brennan Williams". NFL. http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/brennan-williams?id=2539273.
- ↑ Hanzus, Dan (21 July 2014). "Brennan Williams released by Houston Texans". National Football League. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000367044/article/brennan-williams-released-by-houston-texans.
- ↑ "Jaguars' Brennan Williams finally close to fully healthy". June 9, 2015. http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jaguars-brennan-williams-finally-close-to-fully-healthy-060915.
- ↑ "Jaguars Make Roster Move". http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-JaguarsNews/Jaguars-Make-Roster-Move/abe13f2d-4b70-4016-8664-8701aea19622.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kyed, Doug (October 22, 2015). "Brennan Williams Released By Patriots, Will Pursue Dream Of Joining WWE". http://www.nesn.com/2015/10/brennan-williams-released-by-patriots-will-pursue-dream-of-joining-wwe/.
- ↑ "WWE Legend Booker T Training Ex-NFLer for Wrestling Stardom". http://m.tmz.com/#article/2015/10/25/wwe-booker-t-brennan-williams-wrestling-training/. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ↑ Pendergast, Sean (February 12, 2016). "Former Houston Texan Brenna Williams Makes His Pro Wrestling Debut". http://www.houstonpress.com/news/former-houston-texan-brennan-williams-makes-his-pro-wrestling-debut-8150960.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL lineman Brennan Williams". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-signs-former-nfl-lineman-brennan-williams-217731. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ↑ Clapp, John (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL player Brennan Williams". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/wwe-signs-brennan-williams. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ↑ "9/30 WWE NXT Results in Orlando – Team Nakamura main event, Asuka, Itami, 15-man battle royal, William Regal appears". PWTorch. http://www.pwtorch.com/site/2016/09/30/930-wwe-nxt-results-orlando-team-nakamura-main-event-asuka-itami-15-man-battle-royal-william-regal-appears/. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ Pendergast, Sean (17 November 2015). "Plan B: Brennan Williams Hopes to Turn His NFL Disappointment Into a Wrestling Career". HoustonPRess. https://www.houstonpress.com/news/plan-b-brennan-williams-hopes-to-turn-his-nfl-disappointment-into-a-wrestling-career-7932302.
- ↑ Winkie, Luke. "Catching up with Jaguars OL Brennan Williams: The NFL's biggest nerd". https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/07/17/jaguars-brennan-williams-anime-wwe-marvel-comics.
- ↑ "The Third Wheel". https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd83kSpJ-jJGCE_L8Yaoakg.
- ↑ "TENRA BANSHO ZERO - The Book of a Thousand Destinies". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD6Vjr5KLqQ.
- ↑ "Thrilling Intent". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA_FeiuM10k&t=24s.
- ↑ "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2 - Did You Know Anime?". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8j8ItOJpPA.
- ↑ "Welcome to YouTube Comments (2016) - Part 1". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3pKemjHsuk.
External links[]
- North Carolina Tar Heels bio
- Houston Texans bio
- Jacksonville Jaguars bio
- New England Patriots bio
- The Third Wheel
Template:Houston Texans 2013 draft navbox Template:WWE personnel