Q&A: Carolina Panthers CB Teddy Williams

Ten questions about life off the field with Carolina Panthers CB Teddy Williams, posed by Panthers writer Joseph Person:

Q. We asked a lot of guys at camp who was the fastest player on the team. And they would all say --

A. 19?

Q. Yes, Ted Ginn. Do you think you can get him?

A. Well, personally between me and Ted, this is something we’ve heard the past couple of years, all the way back to our Arizona days (in 2014). So we just keep it amongst each other. But now that the game is officially out, tell everybody to check Madden.

Q. So you guys were in Arizona together?

A. Yeah, we’re real close now, on top of us having the same first name. We keep it amongst each other on who we think is the fastest.

Q. Do they not know those (track) times you put up at Texas-San Antonio? Didn’t you have the fastest 100 time in the world at one point?

A. Yeah, in 2009 I had the fastest time in the world for over three months. It was crazy because second to me was Usain Bolt before the world championships when he went crazy. It was a good honor to have, that I was the fastest guy in the world.

Q. I did notice in the fine print it was wind-aided. How strong was the wind that day?

A. Hey, a race is a race. The other nine people had wind, too, and they didn’t run crazy.

Q. So why didn’t you play college football?

A. I broke my leg in high school and all the scholarship offers I had – because the break was so severe – that most people thought I wouldn’t be able to run again. I had a doctor look me in my face and tell me I wouldn’t be able to run again, on top of being able to play football again.

Q. Was this your senior year?

A. Yes. Kendall Hunter, the (former) running back for the 49ers, was my high school teammate (in Dallas). We were playing vs. North Mesquite High School our fourth game, and we actually both broke our ankles in the same game. This was the difference: He was a junior, I was a senior. We were going to go to Oklahoma State together.

Q. So you didn’t play in college?

A. UTSA didn’t have football until the year after I left.

Q. So who said you ought to try football again?

A. Around my junior year, I would see my friends getting drafted. Then my senior year, I saw one of my friends from high school, Dez (Bryant), got drafted. During the 2010 draft, I cried. Because I knew those guys personally and I knew those were guys I played with in high school and I was supposed to go on recruiting trips with. I just said if football presented itself again, I’m going to go for it.

Q. So that’s what you did?

A. I was willing to give up everything I was offered in track. Adidas had offered me a professional contract. They offered me over $300,000. Ultimately, I gave it all up on a wish and a dream.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Q&A: Carolina Panthers CB Teddy Williams."