Exclusive with Former Steelers Defensive Back Payton Williams, 2000-2001

First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?

I started my job here at Riverside City College as the Athletic Director in January of 2021. It’s a two-year community college with over 500 student athletes across 19 sports.  My job is to serve our college by providing the best experience possible for the student-athletes, coaches and staff.  

We don’t have athletic scholarships or massive crowds, so we are very proud of our transfer rates to four-year colleges for our student-athletes and our tradition of athletic success.

Currently, we have two former RCC players in the NFL (JC Jackson-New England and Travis Jonsen-Detroit), Jesse Chavez won a World Series this year in Atlanta, and we had a track athlete in the recent Tokyo Olympics.

After I played for the Colts then Steelers and my career ended, I earned a law degree and became a lawyer. During that time I continued to mentor kids and many of those were student athletes. I tried to help kids make the right decisions for themselves – and that’s what got me interested in this role.

I went on to work for the NCAA’s national office for eight years then went to work for Azusa Pacific University before coming back and working at Riverside – my hometown.

Did any of your experiences playing ball help this role you’re in now?

You learn a lot through the stories you hear and what you experience. The great thing about Pittsburgh then was there were a lot of veterans there – a lot of great people. Even on the practice squad I was able to have good conversations with those guys that gave me great insight and advice. Dewayne Washington, Chad Scott, Brent Alexander, Jerome Bettis, Jason Gildon…the experiences they shared with me I was able to take with me and mentor kids now with. 

Any examples?

One good one is Coach Mitchell. He was the first African American to play at the University of Alabama. Hearing him share that experience helps me now to work with diverse people with diverse backgrounds – even international students feel more connected to campus.  I do the best I can to reach out to those students who are having difficult times to push through and get their degree or transfer to a four-year college.

Things like having a short-term memory so that it doesn’t keep you from doing the next thing, not getting too high with the highs and too low with the lows – all of those lessons come together too. That’s where the experience from Pittsburgh comes in. 

Looking back – what brought you to Pittsburgh in 2000?

You have to ask Kevin Colbert to be sure! I was a free agent. I signed with Indianapolis and returned kickoffs and punts for them for about seven games – I dressed for eight – then was released. For about one-and-a-half months I was home in California with my fiancee’ at the time (now wife for 20 years). I thought my career was done so I started substitute teaching. One day I was on my way to class when she called me to say my agent called and told me I needed to get on a plane to Pittsburgh to join the practice squad.

I was on the practice squad there through the end of the 2000 season. That was the last season at Three Rivers. Maybe because we played Pittsburgh that preseason and I did well – maybe that had something to do with them signing me.

Bill Cowher – I forgot to mention him earlier. He really helped me and my family the following year. My mom wasn’t doing well and he gave me the opportunity during the bye week to go see her and to take the time I needed to make sure she was ok. He didn’t have to do that – especially for a practice squad player. That was right before 9/11 too – so the team was helpful in finding a safe way for me to get back to Pittsburgh from California.

What about the lessons you learned helped you most there in Pittsburgh?

I tell people now – the percent of high school kids that make it to play in college is like 1%. Then it all dwindles down from there to the NFL. And in the NFL there is a small percent of guys that are the true difference-makers. Pittsburgh had a lot of guys with those special gifts – Kordell could run so fast and throw the ball 70 yards. Plaxico could jump out of the gym and had those long arms. Porter, Gildon, Faneca – they were big and fast.

Now, I knew I could run and play, but not like that. When I watched, I tried to learn all I could from them. What was so impressive was their attention to detail – not just their God-given gifts. Their work ethic. They didn’t just rely on those gifts – they had a tenacity and focus – those were the things that made them Steelers. They were locked-in – in workouts, in camp and on the field in those critical situations that win games.

Any fun times stand out most to you?

It’s really about the down time when the guys all get together. That was a good thing for me strangely. Being on a team with Joey Porter and having our Bakersfield California connections. Getting to know Hank Poteat. It was a great feeling – just having time with those guys to laugh with them and ask them questions.

I remember the support staff and the Steelers were so great that at breakfast at the facility a question was asked if there was a type of Heinz ketchup that had the hot sauce mixed into it, instead of having them separate.  —  By lunch, the ketchup and hot sauce mix was right there for everyone as an option!

I also remember the conditioning drill that started camp. Everyone working hard to try and finish the drill. It was very different than other places I was at. Seeing how they prepared for it – each group had to finish  by a certain time and no one wanted to let their group down. It was a certain level of accomplishment they wanted to share. It was the real deal way to start the season. You knew when that happened the journey  started.

What happened after the 2000 season for you?

After 2000 I went to NFL Europe in Berlin which was a great experience.  I was with the Steelers until the final preseason cuts in 2002, then went to play in the CFL. After that, I started in law school and focused on my family. I got married after the 2000 season – in February of 2001. I started my journey to where I am now from there.

Something I believe and that I tell people is that it is one thing to like what you do or to love what you do.  But many times, to be truly successful at something, you need to have a passion for it and be willing to sacrifice to get there. I’ve had two jobs where I had that passion – playing football and now in my role as an administrator. I believe in being in service to help others and help them realize their dreams, and believe in education. You need something to fall back on as an athlete especially – I want to make sure kids have that plan B.

Do you think colleges can do more to help kids with that?

I think many places do that – have administrators and mentors with kids dedicated to that.