Could Ricky Williams Have Had a Hall Of Fame Career?

Ricky Williams was an iconic figure to say the least, recognizable by his dreadlock hair style.

His shyness made him appear like an oddball.

"Ricky's just a different guy," former Saints receiver Joe Horn said.

"People he wanted to deal with, he did. And people he wanted to have nothing to do with, he didn't. No one could understand that. I don't think guys in the locker room could grasp that he wanted to be to himself—you know, quiet. If you didn't understand him and didn't know what he was about, it always kept people in suspense."

Ricky Williams' story is a compelling one.

Williams was born, along with his twin sister Cassandra, in San Diego, California. He was born to relatively young parents, who ultimately separated when he was six years old. His mother was awarded custody of Williams and his siblings.

Williams prepped at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego. He played football and baseball.

To say Ricky Williams was a good athlete is a huge understatement. Texas recruited him as a running back while Philadelphia Phillies saw him as an outfielder.

As we all know he chose football.  It does, however, make you wonder if he could have been a two-sport athlete.

Williams played his college football at the University of Texas. He holds or shares 20 NCAA records, and became the NCAA Division I-A career rushing leader in 1998 with 6,279 yards (broken one year later by the University of Wisconsin Madison's Ron Dayne).

Williams had a sensational senior season, highlighted by rushing for nine touchdowns and 385 yards in the season's first two games, rushing for 318 yards and six touchdowns against Rice, rushing for 350 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa State, and rushing for 150 yards against Nebraska's legendary Black Shirt Defense.

He also helped beat long-time rival Oklahoma rushing for 166 rushing yards and two scores.

Williams was selected as the fifth pick of the 1999 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.

Head coach Mike Dikta traded all of the Saints' 1999 draft picks to get Williams, as well as a first and third pick the following year.This was the first time one player was the only draft pick of an NFL team. 

Rapper Master P's (aka Percy Miller's) organization "No Limit Sports" negotiated his contract, which was largely incentive-laden in exchange for an $8 million-plus signing bonus.

The salary incentives were worth a range of $11 million to $68 million should he hit all of his incentives, with most of them requiring higher than top-level production to attain.

Williams later fired "No Limit Sports" and made Leigh Steinburg his agent. 

Williams was traded after three seasons to the Miami Dolphins on March 8, 2002 for two first-round picks. In his first season with the Dolphins, he was the NFL's leading rusher and a Pro Bowler with 1,853 yards.

It seemed as if Williams had finally found a place he could call home in Miami. He had finally amassed the potential the Saints had seen when they traded away their whole draft for him.

Then this odd man did a very odd thing. In the prime of his career, he retired, at the age of 26.

Williams said the reason was because he had stopped enjoying football.

The real reason was probably because he had just failed a third drug test. He wanted to save the public embarrassment.

Retiring allowed Williams to do something he wasn't allowed to do while he was playing: smoke pot. 

He smoked marijuana because it helped with his clinical depression and anxiety disorder.

Ricky Williams is another case of what could have been. He is playing again for the Dolphins, but has not even come close to the numbers he put up in 2002 and 2003.

Williams will never gain back those three years he was out of the NFL and he will never be a top running back again.

It is a shame because people don't remember that for two years was a top five running back. 

Ricky Williams has had a good career but it very well could have been a Hall of Fame one.