Kyle Williams

Sport: Football

Induction Year: 2022

University: LSU

A homegrown LSU All-American, the Ruston native became a six-time Pro Bowler after being a fifth-round draft pick (134th overall) of the Buffalo Bills in 2006. Williams played 183 games (starting 178) at defensive tackle in 13 NFL campaigns for Buffalo, retiring at the end of the 2018 season as one of the most accomplished, admired and recognizable players in Bills history.

In college, Williams played in 46 games with 33 starts and was a second-team AP All-American as a senior, two years after cracking the starting lineup and helping the Tigers claim the BCS national title and Southeastern Conference crown in 2003. He had 140 tackles with 26 tackles for loss and 16½ sacks in his LSU career.

At Ruston High, Williams – also a baseball letterman and a shot-putter in track and field — earned Class 5A Defensive MVP honors with 78 tackles, 17 for losses, seven sacks, four fumble recoveries and an interception as a senior after helping the Bearcats reach the 1998 state finals as a freshman, running for 942 yards and 14 TDs.

In the Bills’ 2017 season finale, he ran for a 1-yard TD at Miami and that win lifted Buffalo into the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Individually, his best season came in 2013 with 10.5 sacks, 68 tackles and 22 quarterback hits. When he retired, Williams ranked second in franchise history in tackles (609), sixth in sacks with 48 ½, still best ever by a Bills’ tackle.

As a golfer, Williams was runner-up in the sports celebrity-laden 2020 American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, after earning a berth in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2019. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. … Born 6-10-1983 in Ruston.