Brennan Williams
| Brennan Williams | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brennan Marcel Williams |
| Born |
February 5, 1991 North Easton, Massachusetts, United States |
| Residence |
Orlando, Florida United States |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Marcellus Black[1] Brennan Williams |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (20 st 0 lb; 130 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | The Savage Lands of Shaolin[2] |
| Trained by |
Booker T Reality of Wrestling |
| Debut | February 1, 2016 |
Brennan Marcel[1] Williams (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and former American football offensive tackle currently signed to WWE, performing in their developmental territory NXT. He is best known under the ring name Marcellus Black.[1] He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round (89th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina.
Early years
Williams was born in North Easton, Massachusetts and attended Catholic Memorial School.
While at Catholic Memorial, Williams was a member of PrepStar's High School All-America team, a member of the "Super 26" team in 2008, an all-scholastic by the Boston Globe and Boston Herald. He was named all-conference as both a junior and senior. He was rated as the eight best offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep All-America. Rivals.com rated him the seventh best offensive guard in the country. Scout.com rated him as the 15th best offensive lineman in the country. ESPN.com rated him the 35th best offensive tackle in the country. He was also a member of the Rivals 250. He also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[3]
On February 15, 2014, Williams' number 73 was retired by Catholic Memorial.[3]
Football career
| No. 73, 65 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth: | February 5, 1991 | ||
| Place of birth: | North Easton, Massachusetts | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||
| Weight: | 314 lb (142 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial | ||
| College: | North Carolina | ||
| NFL Draft: | 2013 / Round: 3 / Pick: 89 | ||
| Career history | |||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
| |||
College career
Williams received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he received honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors.[3] Williams tore his labrum his senior year of college.[4] Williams majored in communications while attending North Carolina.[5]
Professional football career
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans selected Williams in the third round with the 89th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.[6] He would go on to miss his rookie season with a microfracture in his knee.[3]
On July 21, 2014, he was released.[7]
Jacksonville Jaguars
On February 20, 2015, Williams was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, to a two-year contract, with the intention of being a back up to starter Jeremy Parnell.[8] On August 29, 2015, Williams was released by Jacksonville.[9]
New England Patriots
On October 20, 2015, the New England Patriots signed Williams to their practice squad. They waived him two days later.[10]
Professional wrestling career
Reality of Wrestling (2016)
After being released by the Patriots, Williams returned to Houston to train to become a professional wrestler.[10] On October 27, 2015, it was announced that Williams was being trained by WWE star Booker T to become a professional wrestler.[11]
He made his debut with Reality of Wrestling on February 1, 2016, under the ring name of Marcellus Black.
WWE
NXT (2016–present)
On February 11, 2016, Williams participated in a WWE try-out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[12] On August 1, 2016, WWE officially announced the signing of Williams, who started training at the Performance Center the same day.[13][14]
He made his in-ring debut for the company at a NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 2016, competing in a battle royal.[15]
Personal life
Williams is the son of Jacquelyn and former NFL defensive end Brent Williams.
Growing up, Williams was a fan of professional wrestling.[1] He was a fan of Eddie Guerrero and The Great Muta.[1] He is also a fan of anime.[16]
In wrestling
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "NFL's Brennan Williams Now Wrestling as "Marcellus Black"". Title Match Wrestling. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- 1 2 "Marcellus Black Wrestling Debut: The Shogun of the Row". YouTube.com. Title Match Wrestling. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Hall, Brendan C. (February 15, 2014). "Texans' Williams gets number retired at CM". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Brennan Williams, OT". CBS Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brennan WIlliams" (PDF). UNC. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brennan Williams". NFL. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ Hanzus, Dan (21 July 2014). "Brennan Williams released by Houston Texans". National Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ↑ "Jaguars' Brennan Williams finally close to fully healthy". FoxSports.com. June 9, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Jaguars Make Roster Move". Jaguars.com. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- 1 2 Kyed, Doug (October 22, 2015). "Brennan Williams Released By Patriots, Will Pursue Dream Of Joining WWE". NESN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ↑ "WWE Legend Booker T Training Ex-NFLer for Wrestling Stardom". TMZ.com. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ↑ Pendergast, Sean (February 12, 2016). "Former Houston Texan Brenna Williams Makes His Pro Wrestling Debut". HoustonPress.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL lineman Brennan Williams". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ↑ Clapp, John (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL player Brennan Williams". WWE. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ↑ "9/30 WWE NXT Results in Orlando – Team Nakamura main event, Asuka, Itami, 15-man battle royal, William Regal appears". PWTorch. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ Winkie, Luke. "Catching up with Jaguars OL Brennan Williams: The NFL's biggest nerd".
- ↑ Andrew Ravens (2016-07-18). "Triple H on the WWE Draft, former NFL star signing with WWE NXT?". WrestlingNews.co. Retrieved 2016-07-16.