Ricky avoids the sticky - Williams applies to get back in the NFL

by James on April 9th, 2007

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Ricky says - Yoga refreshes his spirit!

Pass the football, not the green bud.

Ricky Williams wants to come back to the NFL.

The Ricky saga has been a strange one.

Here is a guy that was unbelievable in college and started out unbelievable in the NFL, only to decide that his next joint was more important to him than millions of dollars or the right to play running back in the NFL.

Nobody on the Dolphins can really say anything right now, because his official day to be eligible for reinstatement would be April 27th.

Ricky and the NFL

So just how good was Ricky when he first got into the NFL?

Williams, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Texas, was originally drafted by New Orleans when then-coach Mike Ditka gave up all his picks in the 1999 draft to get his rights. He was traded to Miami for two first-round draft picks after the 2001 season and rushed for 1,853 yards for the Dolphins in 2002 and 1,372 the next season. source

For all the time he missed, Ricky still has some impressive stats.

Williams has gained 7,097 yards in 1,757 carries during his NFL career and rushed for 47 touchdowns.

Ricky and college

Ok, so he was a pretty good pro, what about college?

Williams holds or shares 20 NCAA records, and became the NCAA career rushing leader in 1998 with 6,279 yards (broken one year later by University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Ron Dayne).
He also broke the NCAA division 1A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 and 452 respectively (topped one year later by Miami University’s Travis Prentice), and rushed for 200 or more yards in twelve different games (an NCAA record he shares with Dayne and USC’s Marcus Allen).
Williams won the 64th Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Texas Longhorn to win this honor, joining Earl Campbell. source

Ricky and the road to Yoga

We have covered the failed drug tests before and his brief stint in the CFL.

There was the shyness and the use of weed to get around it, then the use of Paxil to substitute for the weed, but now Ricky has a new way of going about things.

Ricky Williams is into Yoga. Will that keep him off the weed that he claims not to have smoked for over 3 years?

Williams is currently adhering to multiple drug tests per week in order to attempt to be reinstated by the NFL. He is currently residing in Grass Valley, Nevada County, California, teaching and studying yoga (which he claims has weaned him off of marijuana), though he plans to return to the NFL and to the Dolphins for the 2007 season. [29] On March 30, 2007, KFFL.com reported that Williams was likely to be reinstated by the league. source

Ricky and reality

Although he does not have comparable wear and tear on his body, Ricky turns 30 in May, which is pretty old for a running back.

Still Miami needs a lot of help and if Ricky can avoid the sticky weed he may get a chance to once again prove he can be a great NFL back.

NFL Football Fan Question Are you in favor of Ricky Williams getting a 5th chance?

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

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