Captain Jameel McClain is one of 23 student-athletes to be honored before the game on Saturday.
Williams is the Honorary Captain For Senior Day
11/20/2007 2:11:48 PM | Football
Former Syracuse and NFL tight end Roland Williams will be the honorary captain for the Orange's season finale against No. 24/arv Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 24 (7:15 p.m., ESPNU). Tickets are available online (click here) and at the Dome Box Office (888-DOMETIX). Fans are encouraged to use the 'Print at Home' option to avoid waiting in lines at the Dome. Ticket packages include a special for all Orange football and basketball fans, college students returning to the area for the holiday and all senior citizens and youth.
"I'll take this time to recognize our honorary captain this week – Roland Williams," said head coach Greg Robinson. "He's an outstanding tight end. My experience with Roland is really through Dick Vermeil, who coached him with the (St. Louis) Rams. I know Dick saw Roland as a very special individual; not just as an outstanding football player. Roland is involved in a lot of different things, specifically his charity that he's hard at work with the community and children. It's really good stuff and we're honored to have Roland be a part of our weekend. I look forward to him showing up."
As the final honorary captain this season, Williams will represent the great tradition of Syracuse football by addressing the team before the game and accompanying captains Jameel McClain and Taj Smith for the coin toss.
Williams was a four-year letterwinner at Syracuse from 1994 to 1997. During his senior year, he was selected to the All-BIG East Second Team and was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll four semesters at SU.
After completing his college career, Williams was selected in the fourth round of the 1998 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. He played three seasons with the team and earned a Super Bowl ring during the 1999 season. In 2001, Williams was traded to the Oakland Raiders, where he had his most productive season (33 catches for 298 yards and three touchdowns). After leaving Oakland in 2002, he had a stint with Tampa Bay in 2003 only to return to the Raiders in 2004 where he was nominated for NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Williams finished his career in 2005 with St. Louis. His career totals included 114 receptions for 1,004 yards and 13 touchdowns.
More impressive than his accomplishments on the field is Williams' ability to give back. The Rochester native is the founder of the Roland Williams Youth Lifeline Foundation. The program is a national non-profit organization that uses the influence of athletics and entertainment to support life skill development for middle and high school disadvantaged youth. Its mission is to provide necessary tools and supplies to at-risk youth for long-term development and sustained productivity.
At SU, he coordinated Jam Session in 1999 and 2000, which benefited the Boys and Girls Club of Syracuse. He also represented Syracuse at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference in May 1997.
WRAPPING UP THE SEASON
The Cincinnati game puts the finishing touches on the 118th football season for the Orange. The contest, which will be broadcast on ESPNU, will be the fifth nationally televised outing this season and the seventh all-time between the two schools.
"It's one more opportunity for us to see if we can go out and put our best foot forward," Robinson said. "The last time I really felt like we put a full game together where offense, defense and kicking game were working on all cylinders was the Buffalo game. It would be great to go out that way. It's really a matter that you have to get your mind right. You have to prepare properly because we have a real good football team rolling in here. I will tell you that from just everything I see, including yesterday – a lot of people coming through the building. It looked like every Monday that are we preparing. It's good to feel our team has that mindset."
SENIOR SENDOFF
Saturday is also Senior Day at the Carrier Dome. Twenty-two student-athletes and six managers will take part in their final Orange football game. They will be honored in ceremonies prior to the contest.
"The legacy is really that they fight the fight. I think those seniors who will be on that field come Saturday, I can tell you straight from my heart that I know they have paid the price. There have been some who really had to get themselves right whenever it was – in different times in their careers – and they have. Anybody who comes out there on Saturday, I will tell you that I feel very strongly about the effort and the commitment that every one of them has made. There are some names that are like household names. Then there are some who really don't get much credit at all. I want to commend them as strongly as anybody else because that's hard – it's a hard thing. I appreciate their efforts, but I also like seeing the growth and the maturity in a lot of these young people. And I have seen major growth as athletes and as people. They're going to be Syracuse graduates. They have played football at Syracuse University and that's what the legacy is all about. There have been many teams that have struggled, but still outstanding young people have come through this program and have been a part of the things that are our foundation – the shoulders on which we stand of those before us. I do think it's a group that has paid a dear price. They've work very hard."
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