As the Bills prepare for their first primetime home game of the season, former Buffalo safety Aaron Williams will be the Legend of the Game for the Sunday Night Football game against the New York Giants.
Williams, who spent six years as a Buffalo Bill, said he's excited to head back to Western New York for a game day in Orchard Park.
"It's always exciting coming back to Buffalo," Williams said. "Just to be in the atmosphere again and just to be around the tailgating, the history all over again, it always makes me feel like I'm about to get ready for gameday myself."
Williams reminisced on his favorite part of the game day experience. After growing up getting to games early to watch the players warm up, Williams would invite kids from the stands onto the field to watch the Bills get loose before a game.
"It's one of my favorite things because you see the joy in the face, you see how happy their parents are and it's those kinds of things that are really more important to me," Williams said.
Williams, who the Bills took in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, played college football at Texas and switched to safety after two years playing cornerback. He spent his entire career in Buffalo, starting 52 games, racking up three forced fumbles, 257 total tackles, a fumble returned for a touchdown and seven interceptions.
He said that the passion of Bills Mafia reminded him of his college days playing in front of the die-hard Longhorn fan base.
"Just that loyalty that they bring," Williams said. "They showed up every week, ready to cheer us on, ready to show their love for the Bills. … Regardless of how their season ends, regardless or who's playing for them, they're always rooting for them to go all the way."
Since retirement, Williams started the Ballhawk Academy, where he trains young defensive backs with aspirations to play college or professional football, using the skills he learned throughout his career to help the next generation of star players.
"After retiring, I wanted to give back, and while being down [in Austin], why not share that knowledge that I've accumulated over the years?" Williams said. "Not only being the best athlete, the best football player you can be, but also learning life lessons, becoming a man and learning what to do, what not to do and the mistakes that I did, try and learn from that and apply it to your life."
