Terian Williams II had a football put in his hands at a very young age following in his fathers footsteps, but what truly sets him apart is what he is doing off of the field to give back to the communities that have given him so much.
“I found football first when I was about five years old,” said Williams. My dad played football through high school and college and it was obviously something that he loved and it was just a good sport to put me in.”
The way Williams was put into the sport at the start however, was a top-secret mission between father and son.
“My dad actually snuck me out to the field to try me out because my mom didn't want me to play because of all the concussions and stuff. I made the team and then came home and told my mom and she didn't even know I went out there to practice, so that was kind of funny.”
Playing Division I football and going pro was always a goal of Williams’, but it wasn’t until eight grade when he realized that he had the talent to truly go to the next level.
“I received my first offer in eighth grade, which was pretty nice and ever since then it's just been rolling.”
Coming out of high school William’s had about 50 collegiate football offers and initially made the decision to begin his college career at Stanford University, where he spent two seasons.
“After my first year, Coach Shaw had stepped down and we had brought in a new staff. After my sophomore year ended, I decided to enter the transfer portal.”
When Williams entered the transfer portal and was tasked with finding his new home, he was drawn to Bucknell and all the school and athletics had to offer him.
“I love Bucknell, love athletics and love everything that’s going on. The journey's been pretty great so far. Meeting the different seniors that have now graduated and then just the overall campus life you know, meeting friends, their connections, alumni and just kind of making a stamp in the community here.”
Williams made his stamp quickly with the Bison. After spending just one year with the football program, he was voted in by his teammates as one of the four captains for the upcoming 2025 season.
”It means a lot to be named captain basically a year after you transfer into a school. That means you don't have the same amount of time to kind of gain the team's trust. It just shows how I come every day to the field, academics, film room, everything like that. I give everything I got and I'm going to take a lot into this year, basically just going to bat for the guys and trying to lead them on and off the field.”
Off of the field, Williams has started a non-profit organization in his home city of Atlanta and his own sports marketing and consulting company, truly letting his entrepreneurial spirit that came from both his family and a natural spark in himself take flight.
“The way I’m structured is that if I’m gonna do something, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability and if somebody's kind of like over me in the business and they're not putting their best foot forward, then I automatically put my best foot forward and kind of take over. So, I think it's just best overall if I'm leading the charge and stuff like that. Then, different opportunities were able to present themselves for me to be able to create my different companies.”
One of the companies that Willams started is a non-profit organization called It Takes a Village Family Foundation. Williams started the company in 2023 when Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) first started taking the world by storm.
“I put a lot of my NIL funds back into the community of Atlanta and held a Christmas event. My mom was like, 'instead of taking all of the money and putting it directly back into the community, how about you use it and start a non-profit.'”
That’s when Williams began doing research on starting a nonprofit organization and put a board together to start the It Takes a Village Family Foundation. The organization holds many different events throughout the year to help different aspects of the community. Since coming to Bucknell, the communities Williams are helping with his organization have expanded as well.
“It’s been pretty good since I started. It's continuing to grow, different people in the Atlanta and Pennsylvania areas have definitely helped in terms of growing as well. I’m excited for our next event coming up which is a back-to-school event.”
On top of the non-profit organization, Williams also started another company called TA Sports Marketing & Consulting where he helps other student-athletes learn how to market themselves in the new era of college athletics.
“I would always get different messages, texts or dms from different athletes asking how to market themselves in terms of the new era of college sports and how to negotiate deals with companies. I would get it so much that I thought it was a good opportunity to basically go into that space.”
Williams, who has over 70 deals and has learned through trial and error how to market himself, partnered with Mia Johnson for TA Sports Marketing & Consulting. Johnson has a facility in Atlanta with her husband where they see college athletes through financial education.
“They basically have seen different college athletes come through and have financial education issues like not understanding the taxes and not understanding how to use their money properly. We kind of put our heads together, me and her, and started the agency TA Sports Marketing & Consulting.”
With two businesses on top of being a student-athlete at a collegiate level, Williams has a busy schedule with a lot of responsibilities on his plate, but he has developed different techniques to help navigate the difficulties of time management.
”One, Google Calendar. If it's not on my calendar, I probably won't get it done. It also helps to wake up early every morning so I can get my workout in and get to the day.”
On top of utilizing a scheduling system and an early start to the day to maximize time, Williams carries a mindset that allows him to be grateful for the full schedule rather than stressed about the time management aspect of things.
“I always say it's a blessing to have many things going on and being able to have motion rather than having nothing going on and wishing you were doing something. So, I'm blessed to be able to wake up every day and get after something. It's not really a lot when I think of it as everything that I do goes around talking to people and networking, so they all work hand in hand, it's not like I have different fields for it all.”
Talking to people and networking is one of Williams favorite aspects of his life and the one thing he feels best describes him as a person, which aids in why he is so successful as a leader both on and off the field.
”I love talking to people and that's the best part about the companies I have. They deal around networking with people, talking to people and building relationships. I would say that's like the number one thing because it's hard to teach, but if somebody has that under their belt, it's a pretty great thing.”
Through his strong ability to network as well as his entrepreneurial spirit, Williams has been invited to attend two major collegiate athletics networking events so far this summer. The senior was invited to both AthleteCon 2.0 and Athlete.Org’s Inaugural Leadership and Policy Summit.
AthleteCon 2.0 is an event held by Sam Green who partnered with The Livvy Fund to host a handful of the top athletic influencers from across the country for a three day event in Charlotte where the athletes learn different ways to help monetize their brand from companies like Snapchat, Instagram, Canva, TikTok and many more. Williams was one of the athletic influencers invited to attend the event.
“It was great to meet the different influencers that I know on social media and be able to just have a good time. I met many friends there and made many connections that are gonna last a lifetime and that will help me, whether it's the nonprofit side or even the agency side.”
Williams not only attended the event, but was also named as the AthleteCon 2.0 Entrepreneur of the Year.
“It was amazing to win an award there. It was unexpected that I was going to get an award and to be able to be recognized for the hard work that I'm doing is amazing. Even though we don't do it for the awards, it’s just great to be recognized.”
Williams was one of seven athletes across the NCAA chosen to attend Athletes.org’s inaugural Leadership and Policy Summit in late May. Athletes.org (AO) which is the players association for college athletes, hosted the Leadership and Policy Summit to bring players like Williams into the conversation about the scope and trajectory of college athletics. At this event, the seven athletes selected were given the chance to hold direct conversations with U.S. policymakers and industry leaders about the future of college sports.
“I think the main thing to understand and take away is that as athletes, we don’t want to make the decisions, but we want to help create the decisions with these politicians so that they can understand the things we really go through as athletes while making these major changes.”
Williams was also recognized by Bucknell Athletics with an award at the Bucky’s in May. He was honored with the Robert A. Latour Service Award, which is presented for extraordinary service to Bucknell and the local communities.
The senior will continue his entrepreneurial journey through his It Take a Village Family Foundation and TA Sports Marketing and Consulting company, while also beginning his senior season of football as a Bucknell captain with the season fast approaching. Williams leaves one message for all of the Bucknell football fans ahead of the 2025 season;
“Come out to some football games in the fall!”
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