Former Miami Dolphins Safety Jarvis Williams Passes Away At 45

By Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

Former Miami Dolphins safety and Florida Gators great Jarvis Williams has died of an apparent heart attack at 45.

“I’m sorry to learn of the loss of Jarvis Williams, who was not only a personal friend but a tremendous football player for both the Dolphins and the Gators,” Dolphins Vice President Nat Moore said. “He dedicated his life to coaching and helping young people and it’s a real tragedy for him to pass away at such an early age.”

Williams was chosen by the Miami Dolphins in the second round (forty-second pick overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft, and played safety for the Dolphins from 1988 to 1993. In Miami, Williams was reunited with Gators teammate Louis Oliver, and together they were the Dolphins’ starting safeties for five seasons. In his first five NFL seasons with the Dolphins, Williams recorded fourteen interceptions, including one he returned forty-two yards for a touchdown in 1990. He played his final NFL season for the New York Giants in 1994.

Williams was born in Palatka, Florida. He attended Palatka High School, and was a key player for the Palatka Panthers football team that won the state 3A championship in 1981. After graduating from high school, Williams received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in nearby Gainesville, Florida, where he played defensive back for coach Galen Hall’s Florida Gators football teams from 1984 to 1987. He started forty-five consecutive games over four seasons, had ten career interceptions, and led the team in tackles (77) and punt returns (20 for 222 yards) during his senior season. Williams was named a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1986 and a first-team All-American in 1987. The Gators posted identical 9–1–1 records in 1984 and 1985, and the best SEC win-loss records of 5–0–1 and 5–1 during those same seasons. Williams was inducted into the University of Florida’s Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” in 2001.

Williams has a son, Jarvis Williams, Jr., who plays fullback for Jacksonville University Dolphins football team, and was named the 2007 Pioneer Football League Newcomer of the Year by Street & Smith. Williams’ former Gators teammate, Kerwin Bell, is the head coach of the JU Dolphins.

Williams, who turned 45 on May 16, becomes the third former Dolphins player to die this month, all at age 45 or younger. Nick Rogers died in a car crash on May 4 at age 30, and Norman Hand died on May 14 at 37.

Jarvis Williams “big hit” on The U’s Melvin Bratton