SEATTLE – Reggie Williams liked to joke that he couldn’t read what reporters wrote about him because, being as he was a poor college student, he couldn’t afford a newspaper.
Those days became history officially Tuesday, when Williams, the University of Washington all-time leading receiver, declared he would forego his senior season and submit his name into April’s NFL Draft.
“I weighed all my options and I just can’t wait to get to the next level,” Williams said.
Williams, projected to be drafted in the first round, is the owner of most of the school’s receiving records, even though he played just three seasons. He set the UW mark for most career receptions (238) and receiving yards (3,536). He had a school-record 16 100-yard games in his time at Washington and recorded at least one reception in all 37 games he played.
Williams’ game-highs: 14 receptions against Oregon in 2002; 203 reception yards against Washington State in 2001; and an 89-yard TD catch against San Jose State in 2002, which also was his longest career reception.
“He was fun to coach,” UW receivers coach Bobby Williams said. “It’s a lot more fun to coach guys who make plays than the ones who can’t. But he was ready to go.”
Williams, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, made a lot of plays in his three seasons. He set a school single-season receiving record in 2002 with 94 catches for 1,454 yards. As a sophomore, he was named a first-team All-America by The Associated Press, the Football Writers, ESPN and collegefootballnews.com.
He was a first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference selection as a sophomore and a junior and was named the league’s co-Freshman of the Year in 2001.
This past season, Williams caught 89 passes for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns in a year when the Huskies wanted to emphasize the running game to a greater extent.
“Do I want him to leave? Heck, no; what coach would?” UW coach Keith Gilbertson said. “But I want Reggie to do what’s best for Reggie and if he thinks it’s time to go, then I’m all for it.”
On the Pac-10 career list, which includes bowl games, Williams is second in receptions (243) and yardage (3,598). Stanford’s Troy Walters has the records with 248 receptions for 4,047 between 1996 and 1999.
Though Williams’ decision to enter the draft seemed a slam dunk to outsiders, he said he made up his mind only last week. The fact that the Huskies didn’t make a bowl game this season, that they didn’t win a national championship or go to a Rose Bowl in Williams’ tenure nearly led him to stay, he said.
“Those are what the University of Washington is built around,” Williams said. “That was really something that almost held me back.”
Gilbertson said he will miss Williams’ willingness to help the team any way he could. At times, Williams returned kicks, lined up to block kicks and even lined up as a tailback.
“He was all about the team and the team doing well,” Gilbertson said.
The Huskies return starter Charles Frederick at receiver next season, along with a slew of sophomores-to-be. Also coming back is Craig Chambers, a 6-5 receiver from Jackson High School who redshirted in 2003.
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