Aeneas Williams

Aeneas Demetrius Williams (born January 29, 1968) is an American former football cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Arizona Cardinals franchise.

In 1985, the Fortier Tarpons went undefeated through 10 games and won the District 10-4A championship and proceeded to the Class 4A semifinals.

Aeneas was selected to the all district team as a strong safety that season.

Williams was not offered a scholarship when he graduated high school.

He attended Southern University, the same school his brother Achilles attended, planning to simply get his accounting degree.

"Our parents always expected that we would go to college and get our degree," he explained.

"(Playing football) never crossed by mind, I was preparing for the rest of my life."

At Southern, he concentrated on his academics, not playing football until his junior year.

Eventually, after being encouraged by his old high school teammate Maurice Hurst, he decided to join the team as a walk-on.

He started out playing mostly on special teams, but made the starting lineup in the 5th game.

Williams kept his involvement with the football team a secret from his family until he made the travel squad for the 2nd game of the season.

In the following season, Williams was named to the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference team after leading the conference with seven interceptions.

Williams received eight Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro honors, as well as being on the second NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

In 1990, Williams stayed on the team as a graduate student and fifth year senior in order to improve his draft status.

He made the ALL SAC team again and tied the Division I-AA, (now known as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision) record for most interceptions with eleven.

Williams finished his college career with 20 interceptions and 28 pass deflections.

He played college football for the Southern Jaguars and was selected in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft by the Cardinals, where he spent 10 seasons.

During his final four seasons, he was a member of the St. Louis Rams.

Williams's numbers impressed the then-Phoenix Cardinals enough that they selected him in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft, Williams quickly established himself with an exceptional rookie season, tying the NFC lead for interceptions.

In 1994, he led the NFL in interceptions with 9.

By 1997, Williams had already notched four Pro Bowl appearances and had established himself as the Cardinals' top cornerback, routinely covering the opponents' lead receivers.

In the 1998 season, Williams helped the Cardinals win their first playoff game since 1947 by intercepting two passes from Troy Aikman in a 20–7 win over the Dallas Cowboys, and added another interception in the Cardinals 41–21 loss in the divisional round.

Despite playing mostly for bad teams (1998 was the only time he played on a winning team during his 10 years in Arizona), Williams was recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, making six Pro Bowls in all as a Cardinal.

He is regarded as one of the best defenders and players in Cardinals history, as well as one of the greatest shutdown corners of all time.

In Week 3 of the 1999 season, in a game played at Sun Devil Stadium and nationally televised on Monday Night Football, Williams delivered the hit which ultimately ended Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Steve Young's career.

Williams came in on a cornerback blitz from Young's blindside and scored a clean text-book tackle that launched Young backward - causing Young to slam his head against the turf.

Running back Lawrence Phillips was supposed to block Williams, but missed.

This left Young unconscious on the field for several minutes.

Young suffered a severe concussion that effectively ended his career; he didn't play again for the rest of the season, after which the 49ers all but forced him to retire.

In 2000, he tied an NFL record, held by Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders, by returning a fumble (caused by Mark Maddox) 104 yards for a touchdown in a game against the Washington Redskins.

In 2001, Williams was traded to the St. Louis Rams on draft day in exchange for picks in the second and fourth rounds.

Due to roster concerns, Williams switched to free safety.

As one of the leaders of a much-improved defense, Williams got a chance to play in the postseason for only the second time in his career.

In the Rams' divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers prior to the Super Bowl, he returned two interceptions from Packers quarterback Brett Favre for touchdowns and recovered a fumble.

Then in the NFC title game, he intercepted a pass from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, with 2 minutes left in regulation, clinching the game and ensuring the Rams' berth in Super Bowl XXXVI.

However, the Rams lost that game to the New England Patriots.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Williams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Lawrence and Lillian Williams.

Aeneas is the youngest of 3 brothers, Malcolm and Achilles.

He attended the now defunct Alcee Fortier High School, where he played football on a team with three future NFL players: Maurice Hurst, Kevin Lewis, and Ashley Ambrose.