Cadillac Williams Carnell Lamar " Cadillac " Williams ( born April 21 , 1982 ) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent . He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He played college football for the Auburn University Tigers . Williams also had a brief stint with the St . Louis Rams in 2011 . College career . Williams moved on to Auburn University after graduating from Etowah High School in Attalla , Alabama . He got the nickname " Cadillac " from a TV sportscaster in Alabama for the style and the way he ran - he was a notch above everyone on the field , and the name stuck . While at Auburn University , he majored in Sociology . He began the 2001 season as a true freshman and the # 3 running back on the depth chart . In the eighth game of the season he had a break - out game against the University of Arkansas and showed his outstanding talent and versatility as a running back . After the Arkansas game , Williams was promoted to starting running back . In the next game , the annual Deep South ' s Oldest Rivalry contest against the University of Georgia , he led Auburn to an exciting victory as he amassed 179 yards on an Auburn record 41 carries in one game , and scored two touchdowns , one of which was the game winner . Williams was injured early in the bitter in - state rivalry game against the University of Alabama ( also known as the Iron Bowl ) with a broken collar bone and had to sit out the rest of the season . In his freshman season , Williams played in nine games and finished with 614 yards on 120 carries ( 5 . 1 avg . ) and six touchdowns . The 2002 season started out as a promising season for Williams . Unfortunately , it also ended prematurely for him when he broke his lower left fibula against Florida and missed the last six games of the season . He amassed 745 yards on 141 attempts ( 5 . 3 avg . ) and 10 touchdowns in only seven games prior to the injury . In 2003 , Williams was told that he would share the load at the running back position with Ronnie Brown . Brown had completed a stellar season the previous year after picking up the starting role when Williams went down with a broken ankle . However , Brown pulled a hamstring early on in the year and sat out most of the rest of the season , leaving Williams as the sole starting running back . Williams went on to have a sensational season setting an Auburn single - season record with 17 touchdowns , and gaining a career high 1 , 307 yards on 241 attempts ( 5 . 4 avg . ) . The 2003 season was an important season for Williams because it showed that he could stay healthy and excel on the field on his own . In 2004 , Williams decided to return for his senior year at Auburn . This turned out to be a wise decision as he , along with quarterback Jason Campbell , Brown and others , helped lead the Tigers to an SEC Championship and Sugar Bowl winning season , finishing with a perfect 13 - 0 record and a controversial # 2 ranking behind the University of Southern California . Williams went on to earn All - American honors and was named to the All - SEC first team as both a running back and return specialist . He led the team in rushing for the third time with 1 , 165 yards on 239 carries ( 4 . 9 avg . ) and scored 12 touchdowns . He finished the season with 1 , 718 all - purpose yards , the third highest single - season output in Auburn school history . Williams also threw one touchdown pass against Georgia . Some argue that Williams ' senior year performance was not as good statistically ( 4 . 9 yard rushing average for example , the lowest in his college career ) as his others because of poor blocking , while others argue that it was because defenses focused on him specifically . Williams finished his collegiate career with 3 , 831 yards on 741 attempts ( 5 . 2 yards per attempt ) and 45 touchdowns , breaking the all - time Auburn career records of most rushing attempts by Joe Cribbs ( 657 ) , and most touchdowns by Bo Jackson ( 43 ) , while finishing second in total rushing yards in a career behind Bo Jackson . His career total of 5 , 033 all - purpose yards also ranks second in school history behind James Brooks . Williams also has the distinction of earning nine SEC Player of the Week honors in his career , the most in conference history . Collegiate statistics . Note : Bold indicates Auburn University school record . Professional career . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Williams entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was selected with the fifth pick of the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . He signed a five year contract with the Bucs worth $ 31 million , while fellow running backs who were drafted ahead of him , including former Auburn University teammate Ronnie Brown , who was drafted 2nd by the Miami Dolphins , and Cedric Benson , drafted 4th by the Chicago Bears , held out of training camp seeking much more lucrative deals . Jeff Reynolds of Pro Football Weekly predicted Williams was the rookie most likely to have the greatest impact in the 2005 NFL season , writing that " at the Senior Bowl , Jon Gruden was salivating over this kid . He pulled him out real early . Don ' t think that was a coincidence . He ' s the offense . Gruden has set it up , Cadillac or bust " . The first half of the season for Williams was an up and down affair . Williams rushed for 434 yards in his first three weeks , setting records as the first rookie running back to ever have three consecutive 100 yard games , and rushing for the most yards in the first three weeks of a career , a record previously held by Alan Ameche of the 1955 Baltimore Colts ( now the Indianapolis Colts ) . Williams was also named rookie of the week for the first three weeks of the season and rookie of the month for September . His shoes and gloves from week three were subsequently retired to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton , Ohio . In week four however , Williams dealt with injuries to his ankle and arch in his right foot , causing him to miss two weeks . In the next four games he played , including the game in which he was injured , Williams only rushed for a combined 82 yards on limited carries . However , in his next four games , he averaged over 100 yards per game ( 408 ) . In his rookie season , Williams tallied six 100 - yard games in 14 starts , and led all rookies in total rushing yards ( 1 , 178 ) , rookie of the week honors ( 3 ) , and finished second , behind Brandon Jacobs ( another former Auburn football player ) , for rushing touchdowns ( 6 ) . On January 4 , 2006 , Williams was awarded the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award . He drew 47 votes of a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL . He beat former running mate Ronnie Brown of Miami , who received one vote . Tight end Heath Miller of Pittsburgh and offensive lineman Logan Mankins of New England also received one vote . On February 2 , 2006 , Williams was announced as the NFL Rookie of the Year Award winner based on the votes of over 1 , 000 , 000 visitors to NFL . com . Williams was unable to match the success of his rookie campaign in the 2006 NFL season , as he failed to reach the 1 , 000 yard mark . His reduced production was attributed to poor offensive line play and an injury that nagged him all year . In October 2007 , Williams suffered a torn patellar tendon to his right knee against Carolina , which required surgery and ended his season . Doctors were doubtful he would come back to full strength after this devastating injury . Williams , however , said that he had " no doubt " that he would play in 2008 . In mid - season of 2008 , Williams began practicing with the team and was listed as questionable on the official injury report . In November , he was taken off the PUP list and added to the active roster . He played in his first game in 14 months against Detroit . On November 30 against the Saints , he scored his first touchdown since his return . One month later , however , on December 28 , Williams suffered a torn patellar tendon to his left knee in the final week of the season against the Oakland Raiders . On September 20 , Williams got his first receiving touchdown of his professional career . It was against the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter with 22 seconds left in a 33 - 20 loss . On December 27 , Williams had his first 100 yard rushing game in two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . He was narrowly edged for the AP 2009 Comeback Player of the Year Award by Tom Brady , finishing second with 15 votes . He rushed for 821 yards on 210 carries with a 3 . 9 average and four touchdowns . He also caught 29 passes for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns . After Williams ' turnaround 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season , in which he played in all 16 games for the first time in his career , the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had high hopes for their former National Football League Rookie of the Year Award winner . However , due to the emergence of undrafted rookie sensation LeGarrette Blount , Williams found himself cemented as primarily the third down running back for the latter half of the 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season . Williams was used as a passing threat on third down and finished the season with 46 receptions for 355 yards and one touchdown ( a come - from - behind , game winning catch from Josh Freeman with ten seconds left in the fourth quarter on October 24 , 2010 against the St . Louis Rams ) . Cadillac finished the 2010 NFL season with 125 rushing attempts for 437 yards and two touchdowns ( one against the San Francisco 49ers and one against the Carolina Panthers ) , helping his team to a 10 - 6 record . The Buccaneers missed the 2010 - 11 NFL playoffs . Williams became an unrestricted free agent in 2011 . St . Louis Rams . On August 3 , 2011 , Williams signed with the St . Louis Rams to be the backup for Steven Jackson . In week one of the 2011 NFL season , Williams had 91 yards on 19 carries against the Philadelphia Eagles . Carnell rushed effectively throughout the season for St . Louis , mainly in a back up capacity . He finished the year with 361 rushing yards and 4 . 1 yards per carry . He also scored one rushing touchdown , in the final game of the season against San Francisco .