Today in Patriots History
Tank Williams
Happy 44th birthday to Tank Williams
Born June 30, 1980 in Gulfport, Mississippi
Patriot safety, 2008-09; uniform #26
Signed as an unrestricted free agent on Match 5, 2008
The nickname 'Tank' actually has nothing to do with the armored vehicle, football play or physical strength. When Williams was an infant his sister told his mother that he drank so much milk that she should give him a 'tank' of milk rather than a bottle - and the name stuck.
Clevan Williams started the first four years of his NFL career with Tennessee, then after signing with the Vikings spent 2006 on injured reserve. Bill Belichick signed the 6'3, 223 lb Stanford alum early in free agency in 2008 with the idea of utilizing his versatility and making him a hybrid strong safety/linebacker. Unfortunately Williams suffered a second knee injury requiring surgery during training camp, resulting in another lost season on IR. The Pats re-signed him to a vet minimum contract, but he was released near the end of training camp in late August of 2009 - and he never played in a single regular season game for the Patriots.
A look back on the contract signed by Tank Williams with the Patriots, and his salary cap charge.
www.boston.com
It’s a one-year pact, with a base salary of $620,000. There are no bonuses in the deal, which is not surprising given that Williams is coming off a serious knee injury.
This deal qualifies for the veteran minimum benefit, meaning his salary cap charge is $460,000.
May 12, 2008:
Before taking off on his vacation trip, recently signed Patriots safety Tank Williams took time out yesterday to address a number of topics, including his hard-hitting style, taking a college class with Chelsea Clinton, the genesis of his…
www.bostonherald.com
July 25, 2008:
The recently signed safety works out at linebacker.
www.enterprisenews.com
Given his nickname, the development should come as no surprise.
After all, it would seem as though Clevan “Tank” Williams would be more fit to play closer to the trenches, at linebacker, than in the secondary.
Continuing a practice they’d set during spring minicamp, the New England Patriots had the 6-foot-2, 223-pound safety working at linebacker during the opening of training camp at the Dana-Farber Field House on Thursday. Williams even saw time alongside Tedy Bruschi at inside linebacker with the team’s first defense.
“I’ve been accustomed to playing close to the ball since my rookie year,” said Williams, who entered the NFL in 2002 as a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans. “Here, I’m doing a little bit of both — playing close to the ball, sometimes I’m a little bit further back. I just do what the coaches want me to do and try to make plays.”
After spending four seasons in Tennessee, Williams moved on to Minnesota as a free agent in 2006. The Patriots signed him on March 6 of this year.
“Certainly, Tank is a very versatile player,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “He has played in the secondary, he has played close to the line of scrimmage, he’s been productive in the kicking game, he can blitz and he can cover. How that will all work out, we’ll just have to see, but he can do a number of different things and we’ll work with him in those different roles.”
July 30, 2008:
FOXBORO – Tedy Bruschi still can’t get used to seeing a 20-something number next to him at linebacker. But for now, that’s where Tank Williams, a free safety by trade, is going to remain. He’s spent most of the first week at camp …
www.bostonherald.com
August 10, 2008:
FOXBORO – The Patriots sustained their first casualty of the season, and a fairly significant one, as safety Tank Williams was placed on injured reserve yesterday, ending his season. Williams, who was signed as a free agent during…
www.bostonherald.com
Tank Williams participated in the NFL’s entrepreneurship program when injuries began to shorten his playing career, attending programs at Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. In his post-NFL career
Williams has worked at a real estate investment company he founded in 2013. Since 2015 Williams has also worked as a football analyst for
Yahoo! Sports, and he also
had a part in the 2013 crime-comedy movie
The Roosters.
35-Photo Slideshow
3/3/2019 (entering Mike Vrabel's 2nd of six seasons as the Tennessee head coach)
As for Vrabel, Williams said the Titans are in good hands.
“I was in the linebacker meeting room with Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi (in New England) when Matt Patricia was the linebackers coach and it was like all of those guys were extensions of Bill Belichick and Patricia,” Williams said. “They just had a complete understanding of not only the defense, but how you are supposed to approach each and every practice, each and every week, each and every game.
“And I believe that is the foundation (Vrabel) is building in Tennessee, and players need to focus on understanding their responsibilities and going out there and doing their jobs. If everyone does that, then you’ll have success on the field. And having that team-first approach, and having that camaraderie as a family, that is important because everyone will buy in and support each other. If you can have that solid foundation, (the Titans) will have success.”
Tank Williams played in seven seasons during his NFL career. Almost a decade after he left the field, Williams explains how he overcame a professional crossroads to take that next step.
www.gr8nola.com
Honestly, I wasn’t ready to leave football when I retired in 2009. I was coming off of my third knee injury and felt like I could battle my way back onto a roster like I had in years past. Yet, I was released by the New England Patriots during training camp only a couple days after learning my grandmother had passed away.
Needless to say, I was devastated for multiple reasons, but fortunately, I spent the three prior off-seasons participating in the NFL’s entrepreneurship programs. My experience at the Wharton School, in particular, helped confirm my interest in real estate while also providing a network that helped me secure an internship with a commercial real estate firm run by a fellow Stanford University alum.
LinkedIn - Tank Williams
2017:
NFL Player Engagement - The NFL provided Titans safety Tank Williams with a Plan B following his football career
“It was one of those things where I loved playing football, I was passionate about football, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to play forever. Especially once I started having injuries to my knees,” Williams said. “So, I wanted to explore various opportunities to see what life after football would look like.
“The NFL did a really good job with those entrepreneurship programs. I was able to attend (ones offered at) Harvard, Stanford and Wharton (School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania). It helped me drill down on what I wanted to pursue after I retired.
“(At the Wharton School program was) when I really was drawn to real estate.
Williams moved to the San Francisco area and used his Stanford contacts to connect with the Quattro Realty Group and Blake Hunt Ventures, brother-sister companies, in Danville, California.
“I felt like I was on a trajectory where I could have a solid career and then once I suffered some knee injuries, it was the reverse side of it where you have some adversity and you have to battle back,” Williams said. “That flipside of things, the business side, definitely gave me more perspective than I feel most guys get because I’ve seen both sides. So, I’ve just been able to use that to my advantage, dealing with the adversity of not having a lot of business experience.
Williams founded the residential real estate company, Pro West Invest LLC, in May 2012.
“I was working in commercial real estate for about four years, and during that time I had the opportunity to work with various product types. Whether it was office, retail, industrial,” Williams said. “It really kind of gave me a taste of each and allowed me to focus on what I wanted to do, and that was residential. I felt like people were working from home more. And internet sales were really affecting some of the retail box stores in real estate, so I figured that no matter what, people are always going to need a roof over their head.
“Pro West Invest was an opportunity for me to go out and basically just start flipping properties here in the San Francisco Bay area. Whereas prices had dipped after the downturn, it was a good opportunity to go in and buy homes at below market value prices, fix them up, and then sell them and make pretty good money off of it.
July 26, 2008: New defensive secondary members Terrence Wheatley and Tank Williams at training camp practice
On June 30, 1980 in a state far, far away; Clevan “Tank” Williams was born. As a baby, young Clevan crushed bottles of milk at an alarming rate, rivaling the prowess of 20 year-old frat boys across the nation. Because of his addiction to the cold, soothing qualities of milk, his sister suggested to his mother that she give the young lad a “TANK” of milk to hopefully satiate his raging appetite. It’s not known if the tank of milk was ever delivered to young Clevan, but from that day forward, Tank Williams was in the building.
Tank played football, basketball, baseball and ran track as a youngster. Mr. Williams has said that his participation in multiple sports helped him cultivate a Chuck Norris-like skill set that ultimately helped him excel as an American footballer. After receiving the last scholarship offer from Stanford University in 1998, Tank grinded his way into becoming the first 1st Team All American safety in Stanford Football history. I know; I think that statement is #FakeNews every time I read it also.
In 2002, Tank graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science and was selected #45 overall in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. If you ask Mr. Williams, he was on the cusp of greatness prior to three knee injuries derailing his professional career, but ultimately, his 7-year career (on the field) with the Titans, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots can be summed up by the acronym J.A.G. – Just A Guy. Fortunately for Tank though, his exploits off the field during his career and after have helped a J.A.G. rise from the ashes like a Phoenix to spread love and good vibes to the inhabitants of Planet Earth.
In his life after football, Tank worked in commercial real estate prior to starting his own residential development company where he flipped and built homes like a boss in Northern California. Adding to his exploits, Mr. Williams also works as a NFL, college football and fantasy football analyst for Yahoo! Sports. While these passions keep Tank busier than a rabbit in the spring, he also finds time to invest in tech start-ups either through a fund of funds or by direct investment. One of his long term goals is to become a black, Warren Buffet and we’re proud to say that he’s well on his way though he has an eternity to go, but you gotta love those unreachable goals!!
Tank and his wife, Yao (Erica), were married in 2014 in a lovely ceremony in San Francisco, CA. Tank nearly escaped the clutches of Erica on that fateful day in August but now he lives each day under the relentless dominance of the Yaozzer.
July 31, 2008: Bill Belichick gives some instruction to Tank Williams
With the convergence of Valentine’s Day and Black History Month, I wanted to highlight someone very special to me: my husband, Tank Williams. I don’t want to gush too much here since afterall, this is a business blog, but Tank’s been my support and rock through thick and thin, and if it weren’t...
www.gr8nola.com
With the convergence of Valentine’s Day and Black History Month, I wanted to highlight someone very special to me: my husband, Tank Williams. I don’t want to gush too much here since afterall, this is a business blog, but Tank’s been my support and rock through thick and thin, and if it weren’t for his encouragement (and hungry appetite), gr8nola probably wouldn’t exist.
Beyond that, Tank’s a man worth getting to know -- from his perspective growing up as a Black kid in Mississippi to defying all odds by receiving an athletic scholarship to Stanford University as a complete underdog (he received the last football scholarship, only after another recruit backed out). However, by the time he graduated in 2002, he was a First Team All-American and 2nd-round NFL draft pick. His 7-year NFL career wasn't easy either, as he faced challenges due to multiple injuries, which ultimately led him hungry for more in his career off the field. Since retiring from the sport in 2009, he’s pursued successful ventures in different fields, from real estate development to sports broadcasting to investing.
