 Roaf in 2008 | |||||||||
| No. 77 | |||||||||
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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1970-04-18)April 18, 1970 (age 55) Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Pine Bluff | ||||||||
| College | Louisiana Tech (1989–1992) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1993: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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William Layton Roaf (born April 18, 1970), nicknamed "Nasty",[1] is an American former professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He playedcollege football forLouisiana Tech Bulldogs, where he earned consensusAll-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the1993 NFL draft, and played professionally for theNew Orleans Saints andKansas City Chiefs of the NFL. An 11-timePro Bowl selection and nine-timeAll-Pro, he was enshrined in thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Roaf was born inPine Bluff, Arkansas.[2] He graduated fromPine Bluff High School,[3] where he played for the Pine Bluff Zebrashigh school football and basketball teams. He was lightly recruited out of high school, and even considered pursuing basketball instead of football in college.
His father, Clifton George Roaf, was a dentist[4] and his mother,Andree Layton Roaf, was the first black woman to serve on theArkansas Supreme Court.[5][6]
Roaf received an athletic scholarship to attendLouisiana Tech University, where he had an outstanding career for theBulldogs from 1989 to 1992. Known for his blocking ability and his considerable speed for his size, he was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American, and was also a finalist in his senior year for theOutland Trophy for the best offensive lineman in college.[4] Roaf made appearances in theHula Bowl and theEast–West Shrine Game.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+1⁄2 in (1.94 m) | 308 lb (140 kg) | 34+7⁄8 in (0.89 m) | 10+3⁄4 in (0.27 m) | 5.03 s | 1.76 s | 2.92 s | 4.82 s | 24.0 in (0.61 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | 25 reps | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[7] | ||||||||||||
He began his professional football career with the NFL'sNew Orleans Saints, who selected him with the eighth pick of the first round in the1993 NFL draft.[8] The draft pick was acquired from theDetroit Lions for the rights toPat Swilling.[9] Roaf played nine seasons for the Saints;[10] he was named to sevenPro Bowls, and won a spot on both theNFL 1990s All-Decade Team and the2000s All-Decade Team, making him the most awarded player in Saints history.[4] Roaf suffered a season-ending injury in 2001 and then was traded to theKansas City Chiefs in March 2002 for a conditional draft choice. He played four more seasons with the Chiefs, and was selected for thePro Bowl in each of those four years, for a total of 11 Pro Bowl selections.[4] His election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced on February 4, 2012. Roaf played a pivotal role in the run block on the offense with the most rushing touchdowns back to back seasons in NFL history. #1,4 & 5.
On July 28, 2006, Roaf told theKansas City Star that he was retiring from football. General managerCarl Peterson said he was holding out hoping that Roaf would reverse his decision, but Roaf said he was "solid" on retirement.[11] In 2009 Roaf took his first coaching job, as the offensive line coach atSanta Monica College inSanta Monica, California.[12]
Roaf has been elected to Sports Halls of Fame forLouisiana Tech Athletics (in 2003), Arkansas (in 2007),[13] Louisiana (in 2009),[4][14] Greater New Orleans (in 2012), and the New Orleans Saints (in 2008).[15] East West Shrine (2018) He was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame on February 4, 2012, in his second year of eligibility.[16] Roaf went into the Saints Ring of Honor (2013) Arkansas Black Hall of Fame along with his mother, a legacy inductee. (2013) Roaf was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2014.[17][18] Roaf is also in the Kansas Chiefs Chiefs Hall of Honor (2011), was as NFL 100th Anniversary Team finalist (2019), and has been inducted to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2022).[citation needed]
Roaf has two sisters and one brother. His sisterPhoebe Alison Roaf is theEpiscopal Bishop for the Diocese of West Tennessee.[19]
Roaf has four children and one step daughter.[20] He is married to Angela Hernandez Roaf.[21]
Media related toWillie Roaf at Wikimedia Commons