In June 2023, former NFL linebacker Avery Williamson moved back to his hometown of Milan to manage and expand the 200-acre commercial cattle farm where he grew up. Reflecting on his journey from West Tennessee and back again, Williamson says working the farm as a kid gave him the life skills to succeed as a professional athlete and now as a farmer and businessman.
Starting Small
“When I first decided I was going to play pro football, I was in the fifth grade,” Williamson says. “My cousin was telling me about how he used to pull his dad’s 18-wheeler tire up to the top of the hill at my grandma’s house, and that’s how he got strong and fast. So I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to do the same thing. But if I’m about to do this, I’ll go pro.’ And the next day, I got a car tire, and I started pulling it.”
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Williamson’s dad didn’t even allow him to play tackle football at that time because of his size. But after a year of pulling a tire every day, Williamson began playing.
As pulling the tire grew easier, Williamson added bricks, then eventually worked up to a truck tire.
“I pulled it every day almost until college,” he says.
Williamson went on to become a standout for his high school team in Milan and received a scholarship to play at the University of Kentucky. In 2014, he was a fifth-round draft pick (151st overall) for the Tennessee Titans, launching an eight-year NFL career that also put him on the New York Jets’ and Pittsburgh Steelers’ rosters.
Life Lessons From the Farm
Williamson credits his remarkable work ethic to growing up on the farm.
Since his dad drove trucks during the week, Williamson held many responsibilities from a young age.
“I had to handle everything on the farm while he was gone,” Williamson says. “It taught me to prioritize business before pleasure.”
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When it was time to show what he was made of on the football field, Williamson was ready for the grueling demands.
“I wasn’t scared to go out there and get my hands dirty,” he says. “I didn’t whine, didn’t complain, just got out there and handled business.”
There and Back Again
After retiring from the NFL in 2021, Williamson didn’t plan to return to Milan. He spent more than two years in Miami and grappled with what to do next. But he kept finding himself visiting the farm to help on a weekend here or a week or two there.
“I had some visions of what I wanted to do with the farm,” he says. “If I was going to do it, I’d have to be here full time.”
It was time to make the move.
Investing in the Future
Currently, the farm boasts 50 head of commercial cattle, and Williamson would like to eventually expand to 100 pure Angus.
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“I want to create my own line of cattle and be able to sell my own meat,” he says. “I want it to be like a show farm and possibly offer tours. It is definitely unique to have a Black former NFL player farming.”
He expects plenty of football-loving agritourists to show interest.
Since trading the football field for a farm field, Williamson has also been investing time in his community. He volunteers as the linebackers coach for a local high school team, and he hopes to develop a partnership with a local agriculture program so that city kids can gain hands-on experience caring for livestock.
With any luck, perhaps Williamson’s farm will serve as a fertile training ground for more young people to go forth and work hard at whatever they put their minds to, just like he has.
The post Former NFL Star Avery Williamson Returned to His Family Farm appeared first on Farm Flavor.