2023 Football Roster
Roster
Williams, Rayshad
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Jersey Number 0
Rayshad Williams
- Position:
- Defensive Back
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 215
- Class:
- Super-Senior
- Hometown:
- Memphis, Tenn.
- High School:
- Whitehaven
Bio
2023 SEASON (SUPER SENIOR)
Put together a strong final season as a Red Raider … appeared in 12 games overall with eight starts at cornerback … missed only one game, which came due to injury in the Radiant Technologies Independence Bowl … closed his collegiate career by appearing in exactly 60 games between his time as a Red Raider and UCLA … totaled 19 tackles on the season (16 solo), including 1.0 that went for a loss, to go along with six pass breakups … notched multiple tackles in six games overall … ranked sixth on the team for pass breakups as five of those came during Big 12 play … credited with playing in 473 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus … targeted 27 times in coverage with only 13 of those passes completed … his .481 completion percentage against him was the second-lowest on the team behind only Bralyn Lux (.466) … allowed only one touchdown through the air on the season … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: opened the season with two tackles in two of the first three games of the season at Wyoming (9/2) and against Tarleton State (9/16) … recorded a season-high five stops in between those two contests in Texas Tech’s home opener against Oregon (9/16) … posted three tackles in the win over Houston (9/30) and then two stops in the road victory at Baylor (10/7) … one of those tackles at Baylor went for a loss, just his third solo stop behind the line in his career … broke up a pass in the win over the Bears as well, grading out at 72.8 overall by PFF … received his best grade of the season by PFF against Kansas State (10/14), finishing at 78.0 after registering a tackle and a season-high two pass breakups … combined for four tackles the rest of the season with one at BYU (10/21) and UCF (11/18) and two versus TCU (11/2) … broke up a pass in the win over the Knights as well as the week before against Kansas (11/11) … performance versus TCU was part of his 32nd and final start of his Red Raider career ... 2024 NFL DRAFT: signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Raiders organization immediately following the draft.
2022 SEASON (SENIOR)
Once again one of Texas Tech’s most-relied upon defensive backs in the secondary … appeared in all 13 and started in 12 of those with the lone exception being the TaxAct Texas Bowl victory … totaled 37 tackles (28 solo), including one that went for a loss … added seven pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery from his spot at cornerback … ranked second on the team for pass breakups behind only fellow cornerback Malik Dunlap … finished one tackle shy of his total from his 2021 debut season as a Red Raider … had at least one tackle in all 13 games and posted three or more in eight different contests … had two or more stops in eight of nine games during Big 12 play … of his eight total passes defended, seven of those came against conference foes … credited with playing in 872 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus, which ranked third on the team behind only Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Marquis Waters … targeted 54 times by opposing offenses with only 25 of those resulting in completions (46.3 percent) according to PFF … marked the lowest completion percentage among defensive players targeted at least 10 times on the season … also saw action on 140 snaps on special teams, mainly as part of punt return and the kick block units … made occasional appearances throughout the year on kick return, punt coverage and kickoff coverage as well … IN NCAA RANKINGS: was one of only 12 FBS players to have at least five passes defended in a game all season … ranked tied for fifth overall with his five passes defended at Oklahoma State … IN BIG 12 RANKINGS: was the lone Big 12 player to record five or more passes defended in a game all season … ranked tied for 10th in the league with seven passes defended against conference foes … was tied for eighth overall with seven total pass breakups on the season … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: opened the season with three tackles in each of the first two games against Murray State (9/3) and Houston (9/10) … lone tackle for loss came in the win over Murray State, while his first pass breakup of the year was in the Houston victory … began Big 12 play with four stops and another pass breakup in the overtime victory over Texas (9/24) … put together possibly his best performance of the season at Oklahoma State (10/8) with three tackles and a career-high five pass breakups … marked only the third time since 2000 where a Red Raider had at least five passes defended in a game, joining the likes of Justis Nelson (2014 at TCU) and Jamar Wall (2009 vs. Oklahoma) … marked only the 14th time in that same period for a Big 12 player to do so as well and the first time since West Virginia’s Dreshun Miller also had five passes defended versus Kansas State in 2020 … credited with two tackles in each of the next three games against West Virginia (10/22), Baylor (10/29) and at TCU (11/5) … recorded each of his two takeaways during that stretch as well with an interception versus West Virginia and a fumble recovery against Baylor … interception came on West Virginia’s first play of the fourth quarter on a deep pass from J.T. Daniels, which all but sealed the win … marked the first interception of his career … the Red Raiders were able to cut the lead to seven points after his fumble recovery against Baylor, which came with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter … was also the first fumble recovery of his career … combined for 13 tackles over the final three games of the regular season with four against Kansas (11/12), three at Iowa State (11/19) and a season-high six versus Oklahoma (11/26) … was only one tackle shy of his career high in the win over the Sooners … closed the season with three tackles in the TaxAct Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss … AWARDS AND HONORS: garnered honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades by the conference coaches ... recognized on the Academic All-Big 12 second team for his work in the classroom ... SENIOR DECISION: elected to return to the Red Raiders for a super senior season in 2023 as part of the extra year of eligibility afforded due to the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
2021 SEASON (JUNIOR)
Put together strong debut as one of Texas Tech’s most reliable members in the secondary during debut season … appeared in all 13 games overall, including 12 starts at cornerback … totaled 38 tackles (30 solo) from the secondary, including 1.5 that went for a loss … ranked second on the team with 10 pass breakups, one fewer than team leader DaMarcus Fields … set career highs for most tackles and passes defended thus far in his career … had at least two tackles in 11 of 13 games overall … recorded a pass breakup in eight different games as well … led the team with 836 snaps defensively according to Pro Football Focus … credited with 95 snaps on special teams with 39 on punt return and 56 on field goal block … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: began his Red Raider career with two tackles and a pass breakup in the come-from-behind win over Houston (9/4) … made his first start of the season the next week with three tackles and another pass breakup versus Stephen F. Austin (9/11) … closed non-conference play with four stops and a season-high two pass breakups against Florida International (9/18) … combined for five tackles over the first four games of Big 12 play with two stops at both Texas (9/25) and West Virginia (10/2) and another versus TCU (10/9) … had two pass breakups during that stretch, both of which that came at Kansas (10/16) … posted three tackles against both Kansas State (10/23) and at Oklahoma (10/30) … shared a tackle for loss versus the Wildcats to go along with a pass breakup … notched four tackles in the win over Iowa State, including one that went for a seven-yard loss … set a career high with seven tackles against Iowa State (11/20) … the Cyclones started a three-game streak to end the year with a pass breakup in each contest … closed the regular season with two stops at Baylor (11/27) … credited with five tackles in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl win over Mississippi State (12/28) … AWARDS AND HONORS: honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the conference coaches.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
Transferred to Texas Tech following three seasons at UCLA … arrived at Texas Tech with three full seasons of eligibility remaining … appeared in 22 games over his three seasons at UCLA, totaling 42 tackles (36 solo) with three pass breakups during that span … made eight starts during his UCLA tenure, all of which came over the final nine games of his 2019 redshirt freshman season … all eight of those starts came during Pac-12 play … recorded 11 multi-tackle games during his UCLA career with six contests of four or more stops … 2020 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): appeared in six games during the COVID-shortened season … credited with nine tackles (six solo) to go along with a pass breakup … listed with two tackles in four different games – at Oregon (11/21), at Arizona State (12/5) and at home versus both USC (12/12) and Stanford (12/19) … broke up his lone pass of the season in the crosstown rivalry game against the Trojans … 2019 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN): closed the 2019 season with 33 tackles (30 solo) and two pass breakups while playing in all 12 games, including eight starts … had at least two tackles in seven games overall and four or more stops six times … finished tied for eighth on the team with his 33 tackles … best performance of the season came at Washington State (9/21) with a career-high six tackles and his first career pass breakup … marked the first game of his career with a tackle … added four tackles the next week at Arizona (9/28) and then five stops two weeks later at Oregon State (10/5) … final pass breakup of the season came versus the Beavers … added five tackles again later in the season against both Arizona State (10/26) and at USC (11/23) … posted four tackles versus Colorado (11/2) and two at Utah (11/16) before closing the season with one takedown against Cal (11/30) … tabbed to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the spring 2020 semester … 2018 SEASON (FRESHMAN): redshirt season … saw action early in the season in non-conference play against Cincinnati (9/1), Oklahoma (9/8) and Fresno State (9/15) and then later in the year versus Arizona State (11/10).
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Whitehaven High School in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn. … considered one of the top high school prospects coming out of Tennessee before deciding to move to California … helped lead Whitehaven to a perfect 15-0 record as a junior in 2016 and the Class 6A state title … credited with 64 tackles, including four for a loss, and six interceptions as a senior … totaled 44 tackles and three interceptions as a junior … three-star prospect according to Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports … listed as the No. 28 recruit in the state of Tennessee and the No. 85 cornerback prospect nationally by 247Sports … was the No. 17 recruit in Tennessee and No. 14 cornerback in the country by Rivals … ESPN listed him as the No. 24 recruit in the state and No. 53 cornerback for the 2018 class … chose to attend UCLA over offers from Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
PERSONAL
Rayshad Williams … son of Carol and Raymond Williams … has two brothers and a sister … considers Jalen Ramsey and Troy Polamalu as two famous athletes he most admires... earned bachelor's degree in university studies from Texas Tech, December 2022 ... currently seeking a graduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Put together a strong final season as a Red Raider … appeared in 12 games overall with eight starts at cornerback … missed only one game, which came due to injury in the Radiant Technologies Independence Bowl … closed his collegiate career by appearing in exactly 60 games between his time as a Red Raider and UCLA … totaled 19 tackles on the season (16 solo), including 1.0 that went for a loss, to go along with six pass breakups … notched multiple tackles in six games overall … ranked sixth on the team for pass breakups as five of those came during Big 12 play … credited with playing in 473 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus … targeted 27 times in coverage with only 13 of those passes completed … his .481 completion percentage against him was the second-lowest on the team behind only Bralyn Lux (.466) … allowed only one touchdown through the air on the season … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: opened the season with two tackles in two of the first three games of the season at Wyoming (9/2) and against Tarleton State (9/16) … recorded a season-high five stops in between those two contests in Texas Tech’s home opener against Oregon (9/16) … posted three tackles in the win over Houston (9/30) and then two stops in the road victory at Baylor (10/7) … one of those tackles at Baylor went for a loss, just his third solo stop behind the line in his career … broke up a pass in the win over the Bears as well, grading out at 72.8 overall by PFF … received his best grade of the season by PFF against Kansas State (10/14), finishing at 78.0 after registering a tackle and a season-high two pass breakups … combined for four tackles the rest of the season with one at BYU (10/21) and UCF (11/18) and two versus TCU (11/2) … broke up a pass in the win over the Knights as well as the week before against Kansas (11/11) … performance versus TCU was part of his 32nd and final start of his Red Raider career ... 2024 NFL DRAFT: signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Raiders organization immediately following the draft.
2022 SEASON (SENIOR)
Once again one of Texas Tech’s most-relied upon defensive backs in the secondary … appeared in all 13 and started in 12 of those with the lone exception being the TaxAct Texas Bowl victory … totaled 37 tackles (28 solo), including one that went for a loss … added seven pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery from his spot at cornerback … ranked second on the team for pass breakups behind only fellow cornerback Malik Dunlap … finished one tackle shy of his total from his 2021 debut season as a Red Raider … had at least one tackle in all 13 games and posted three or more in eight different contests … had two or more stops in eight of nine games during Big 12 play … of his eight total passes defended, seven of those came against conference foes … credited with playing in 872 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus, which ranked third on the team behind only Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Marquis Waters … targeted 54 times by opposing offenses with only 25 of those resulting in completions (46.3 percent) according to PFF … marked the lowest completion percentage among defensive players targeted at least 10 times on the season … also saw action on 140 snaps on special teams, mainly as part of punt return and the kick block units … made occasional appearances throughout the year on kick return, punt coverage and kickoff coverage as well … IN NCAA RANKINGS: was one of only 12 FBS players to have at least five passes defended in a game all season … ranked tied for fifth overall with his five passes defended at Oklahoma State … IN BIG 12 RANKINGS: was the lone Big 12 player to record five or more passes defended in a game all season … ranked tied for 10th in the league with seven passes defended against conference foes … was tied for eighth overall with seven total pass breakups on the season … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: opened the season with three tackles in each of the first two games against Murray State (9/3) and Houston (9/10) … lone tackle for loss came in the win over Murray State, while his first pass breakup of the year was in the Houston victory … began Big 12 play with four stops and another pass breakup in the overtime victory over Texas (9/24) … put together possibly his best performance of the season at Oklahoma State (10/8) with three tackles and a career-high five pass breakups … marked only the third time since 2000 where a Red Raider had at least five passes defended in a game, joining the likes of Justis Nelson (2014 at TCU) and Jamar Wall (2009 vs. Oklahoma) … marked only the 14th time in that same period for a Big 12 player to do so as well and the first time since West Virginia’s Dreshun Miller also had five passes defended versus Kansas State in 2020 … credited with two tackles in each of the next three games against West Virginia (10/22), Baylor (10/29) and at TCU (11/5) … recorded each of his two takeaways during that stretch as well with an interception versus West Virginia and a fumble recovery against Baylor … interception came on West Virginia’s first play of the fourth quarter on a deep pass from J.T. Daniels, which all but sealed the win … marked the first interception of his career … the Red Raiders were able to cut the lead to seven points after his fumble recovery against Baylor, which came with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter … was also the first fumble recovery of his career … combined for 13 tackles over the final three games of the regular season with four against Kansas (11/12), three at Iowa State (11/19) and a season-high six versus Oklahoma (11/26) … was only one tackle shy of his career high in the win over the Sooners … closed the season with three tackles in the TaxAct Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss … AWARDS AND HONORS: garnered honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades by the conference coaches ... recognized on the Academic All-Big 12 second team for his work in the classroom ... SENIOR DECISION: elected to return to the Red Raiders for a super senior season in 2023 as part of the extra year of eligibility afforded due to the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
2021 SEASON (JUNIOR)
Put together strong debut as one of Texas Tech’s most reliable members in the secondary during debut season … appeared in all 13 games overall, including 12 starts at cornerback … totaled 38 tackles (30 solo) from the secondary, including 1.5 that went for a loss … ranked second on the team with 10 pass breakups, one fewer than team leader DaMarcus Fields … set career highs for most tackles and passes defended thus far in his career … had at least two tackles in 11 of 13 games overall … recorded a pass breakup in eight different games as well … led the team with 836 snaps defensively according to Pro Football Focus … credited with 95 snaps on special teams with 39 on punt return and 56 on field goal block … SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: began his Red Raider career with two tackles and a pass breakup in the come-from-behind win over Houston (9/4) … made his first start of the season the next week with three tackles and another pass breakup versus Stephen F. Austin (9/11) … closed non-conference play with four stops and a season-high two pass breakups against Florida International (9/18) … combined for five tackles over the first four games of Big 12 play with two stops at both Texas (9/25) and West Virginia (10/2) and another versus TCU (10/9) … had two pass breakups during that stretch, both of which that came at Kansas (10/16) … posted three tackles against both Kansas State (10/23) and at Oklahoma (10/30) … shared a tackle for loss versus the Wildcats to go along with a pass breakup … notched four tackles in the win over Iowa State, including one that went for a seven-yard loss … set a career high with seven tackles against Iowa State (11/20) … the Cyclones started a three-game streak to end the year with a pass breakup in each contest … closed the regular season with two stops at Baylor (11/27) … credited with five tackles in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl win over Mississippi State (12/28) … AWARDS AND HONORS: honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the conference coaches.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
Transferred to Texas Tech following three seasons at UCLA … arrived at Texas Tech with three full seasons of eligibility remaining … appeared in 22 games over his three seasons at UCLA, totaling 42 tackles (36 solo) with three pass breakups during that span … made eight starts during his UCLA tenure, all of which came over the final nine games of his 2019 redshirt freshman season … all eight of those starts came during Pac-12 play … recorded 11 multi-tackle games during his UCLA career with six contests of four or more stops … 2020 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): appeared in six games during the COVID-shortened season … credited with nine tackles (six solo) to go along with a pass breakup … listed with two tackles in four different games – at Oregon (11/21), at Arizona State (12/5) and at home versus both USC (12/12) and Stanford (12/19) … broke up his lone pass of the season in the crosstown rivalry game against the Trojans … 2019 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN): closed the 2019 season with 33 tackles (30 solo) and two pass breakups while playing in all 12 games, including eight starts … had at least two tackles in seven games overall and four or more stops six times … finished tied for eighth on the team with his 33 tackles … best performance of the season came at Washington State (9/21) with a career-high six tackles and his first career pass breakup … marked the first game of his career with a tackle … added four tackles the next week at Arizona (9/28) and then five stops two weeks later at Oregon State (10/5) … final pass breakup of the season came versus the Beavers … added five tackles again later in the season against both Arizona State (10/26) and at USC (11/23) … posted four tackles versus Colorado (11/2) and two at Utah (11/16) before closing the season with one takedown against Cal (11/30) … tabbed to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the spring 2020 semester … 2018 SEASON (FRESHMAN): redshirt season … saw action early in the season in non-conference play against Cincinnati (9/1), Oklahoma (9/8) and Fresno State (9/15) and then later in the year versus Arizona State (11/10).
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Whitehaven High School in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn. … considered one of the top high school prospects coming out of Tennessee before deciding to move to California … helped lead Whitehaven to a perfect 15-0 record as a junior in 2016 and the Class 6A state title … credited with 64 tackles, including four for a loss, and six interceptions as a senior … totaled 44 tackles and three interceptions as a junior … three-star prospect according to Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports … listed as the No. 28 recruit in the state of Tennessee and the No. 85 cornerback prospect nationally by 247Sports … was the No. 17 recruit in Tennessee and No. 14 cornerback in the country by Rivals … ESPN listed him as the No. 24 recruit in the state and No. 53 cornerback for the 2018 class … chose to attend UCLA over offers from Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
PERSONAL
Rayshad Williams … son of Carol and Raymond Williams … has two brothers and a sister … considers Jalen Ramsey and Troy Polamalu as two famous athletes he most admires... earned bachelor's degree in university studies from Texas Tech, December 2022 ... currently seeking a graduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.
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