Needed: a Helmet and Some Pads
Published on May 28, 2021 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
Frisco Fighters News Release
Charles Williams just wants to play.
Born in Detroit, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. after middle school and graduated from Plantation High School as a two-year captain and four-year honor roll student. After some Division I offers fell through, he found himself back in Michigan at Northwood University.
The appeal of playing close to family and friends in Michigan drew him to Northwood. In three years with the Timberwolves, Williams racked up a total of 156 tackles, 17.5 sacks, and 38 tackles for loss. He was Honorable Mention All-GLIAC in 2015.
After extensively preparing for the draft, no camp invites were extended. However, offers from the Indoor Football League began to roll in.
Williams joined the Sioux Falls Storm the last week of regular season in 2018 and played through the team's postseason, including reaching the championship game, where the team fell to Iowa. Sioux Falls signed him again in 2019, and he started every game in a campaign that ended in a United Bowl win over the Arizona Rattlers.
"The environment, the build-up to that whole thing, it was surreal," said Williams. "I hadn't played in front of that many people in a while. With a lot of fans going crazy, I hadn't seen something like that since college."
After playing a key defensive role on the Storm's championship team, he garnered attention from other organizations and signed with the Oakland Panthers in California.
Joining the Panthers also allowed him to care for his grandmother who was put on hospice in the Bay Area.
"I wanted to go out there and spend some time with her," he said. "It just worked out for me going there and Oakland hitting me up. It was like, 'Cool, I'm already out here.'"
Later, he inked a contract with the Ottawa Redblacks in the Canadian Football League and was set to go to Ontario in May of 2020 for camp. Of course, COVID-19 reared its head, canceling the IFL's season and postponing the CFL's training camp.
In October 2020, he heard from the Fighters for the first time. Soon after, the Ottawa Redblacks called and released him
"It was like a heart drop right after that phone call," said Williams. "But at the same time, I thought, 'I can't be too mad because they didn't cut me based on my performance.' I wasn't able to get up there to show them what I could do. It was kind of out of my control at that point."
He called Frisco back, looking to see if the opportunity was still there. Luckily, it was.
"I just want to keep playing," he said. "That's why I went the NAIA route my freshman year. I wanted to play."
Rather than lining up wide and being able to use space to his advantage, the six-foot-two, 250-pound defensive end has grown used to playing the quicker game that indoor football entails.
"I'm right next to the offensive lineman," Williams explained. "He can just stick his hands out and grab me right now. Whereas in outdoor football - if I'm outside, he has to kick back, I have to come to him, and he's got to meet me and try to catch me. That was different."
But for right now, he has another championship on his mind.
"It's early on, so there might not be a lot of eyes," he said. "But as we build up the hype, start going to the playoffs and make the championship, those eyes are going to be there."
After game two for the Fighters, Williams was named Frisco's Co-Player of the Week after recording 2.5 sacks, three solo tackles, and four total tackles in a win against Louisville.
A dominating force for Frisco's defense, Williams is just getting started.
Indoor Football League Stories from May 28, 2021
- Sugar Skulls Announce 100 Percent Capacity at All Home Games - Tucson Sugar Skulls
- Needed: a Helmet and Some Pads - Frisco Fighters
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