TE or WR? Dave Williams Simply Was a Great Pass-Catcher

The legendary Husky and former NFL receiver died on Wednesday at age 78.

Dave Williams, Washington Husky receiving great, has died. / UW Athletics

Dave Williams forever will be known in the University of Washington record books as a tight end, but some consider him the Huskies' first true wide receiver -- as the player who ultimately put separation in those positions in Montlake.

Either way, Williams, who died on Wednesday in Florida at 78, stands as one of the UW's greatest pass-catchers. He's also the latest Husky legend from his era to pass away in recent years, following the deaths of running back Junior Coffey in 2021 and linebacker/offensive guard Rick Redman in 2022.

While Reggie Williams holds most of the school's receiving records, Dave Williams has one all to himself of considerable significance that has held up for nearly six full decades -- most yards in a game, 257, against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in 1965.

It came at time when Huskies, like most other teams of that era, were rush-oriented and focused on offensive power rather than finesse. Typically, the UW had two players who lined up as "ends," caught short passes over the middle and spent most of the time as blockers as much as the tackles who played next to them.

Williams, however, was big and fast for these conservative times, a Tacoma product and Lincoln High School alum who stood 6-foot-2 and weighed close to 200 pounds and similarly ran hurdles and relays for the UW track team.

The Huskies liked to split him out wide, more than any other receiver in the program before him. Against UCLA and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Gary Beban in 1965, Williams proved unstoppable.

He caught 50- and 56-yard touchdown passes from Tod Hullin in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead in Pasadena and added a third scoring catch from 11 yards out for a 24-14 halftime lead.

Williams would finish with 10 catches -- still a UW tight-end record, which he did twice -- and those 257 yards, which are still 34 yards more than the next highest total, by Andre Riley in 1988. Unfortunately, the Huskies suffered defensively against the Bruins and Beban, and lost that game 28-24.

"I think that a lot of the UCLA defenders didn't realize my speed, that and the fact that we tried to spread the field that day," he said years later. "We were not really a throwing team."

Dave Williams was a 2014 Husky Hall of Fame inductee. / UW Athletics

Williams, a Husky Hall of Fame inductee in 2014, finished with career totals of 62 catches for 1,133 yards and 10 scores, again coming at a time when the UW wasn't always looking to throw to him.

However, Williams was such a special talent he was singled out as a second-team AP All-America selection as a junior and the then-St. Louis Cardinals chose him in the first round of 1967 NFL draft as the 16th overall pick -- the UW's only first-rounder from 1952 to 1978. He was chosen between a pair of Pro Football Hall of Famers in defensive end Alan Page, who went to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 15 and offensive guard Gene Upshaw, picked by the Oakland Raiders at No. 17.

He played seven seasons in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cardlnals, catching 183 passes for 2,738 and 25 TDs, before finishing up in the short-lived WFL with New York Stars and Southern California Sun.

Adding more trivia to his football career, Williams became the first Seattle Seahawks player in franchise history, signed to a free-agent contract by the then-expansion team. He wore No. 80 before he suffered a career-ending knee injury in an ill-advised track event, with the great Steve Largent acquired a short time later and claiming that number.

"I like to tell my grandkids that my jersey is in the Hall of Fame," Williams once quipped, "but it just has a different name on it."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington