| William Stanback | |
| Current Team: | BC Lions |
| Number: | 31 |
| Position: | Running back |
| Birth Date: | 6 July 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Hempstead, New York, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 233 |
| College: | UCF (2013–2015) Virginia Union (2016) |
| Undraftedyear: | 2017 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Status: | Active |
| Cflstatus: | American |
| Highlights: |
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| Cflstatseason: | 2023 |
| Cflstatlabel1: | Rushing attempts |
| Cflstatvalue1: | 625 |
| Cflstatlabel2: | Rushing yards |
| Cflstatvalue2: | 3,716 |
| Cflstatlabel3: | Rushing touchdowns |
| Cflstatvalue3: | 11 |
| Cflstatlabel4: | Receptions |
| Cflstatvalue4: | 107 |
| Cflstatlabel5: | Receiving yards |
| Cflstatvalue5: | 1,058 |
| Pfr: | StanWi00 |
| Cfl: | william-stanback/163106/ |
William Stanback (born July 6, 1994) is an American professional football running back with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Virginia Union and UCF. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), and the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
Stanback began his college football career at UCF. In 2013, during a game against Rutgers, Stanback delivered a hit to Rutgers defensive back Anthony Cioffi that went viral and made that night's SportsCenter Top 10 plays.[1] [2] In 2014, Stanback was named to the All-American Athletic Conference First-team.[3] On September 22, 2015, Stanback was dismissed from UCF after reportedly failing multiple marijuana tests.[4] [5] Stanback then played for Virginia Union. In 2016, he rushed for 1,299 yards and was named to the All-CIAA First Team.[6]
Stanback signed with the Green Bay Packers in May 2017.[7] He was released by the Packers on August 28, 2017.[8]
Stanback signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in May 2018.[9] He started receiving significant playing time in August 2018, and a month later the Alouettes traded Tyrell Sutton to the BC Lions; moving Stanback into the starting running back role.[10] [11] Stanback finished his rookie season having played in 16 games, carrying the ball 81 times for 539 yards – he also caught 25 passes for 313 yards with two touchdowns. Stanback had a breakout game in Week 4 of the 2019 season, rushing for 203 yards and three touchdowns.[12] He was named one of three players of the month for the month of July.[13] He played in 14 regular season games for the Alouettes in 2019, recording 170 carries for 1048 rushing yards and five touchdowns and 33 receptions for 329 receiving yards. At season's end he was named a CFL All-Star.[14]
On January 3, 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Stanback to a reserve/futures contract.[15] He was waived on August 23, 2020.[16]
On December 14, 2020, it was announced that Stanback had re-signed with the Alouettes to a two-year contract.[17] In 2021, he played in 12 regular season games in a shortened season, but still recorded a 1000-yard season after recording 193 carries for 1,176 yards and three touchdowns.[18] He also tied a single-game career-high total for rushing yards after rushing 24 times for 203 yards and a touchdown against the Toronto Argonauts on October 22, 2021.[18] At the end of the season, he was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Player.[18]
In 2022, Stanback suffered a broken ankle in the first game of the season and was placed on the six-game injured reserve list.[19] He returned to practice on September 27, 2022, and played in the final four games remaining in the regular season.[20] He played in five regular season games where he had 34 rush attempts for 153 yards and one touchdown in addition to six receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
In the 2023 season, Stanback played in 14 regular season games where he had 147 carries for 800 yards and two touchdowns as well as 27 receptions for 241 yards and one receiving touchdown. He also played in both playoff games, including the East Final victory over the Toronto Argonauts, where the Alouettes qualified for their first Grey Cup appearance since 2010.[21] In Stanback's first Grey Cup game, he had nine carries for 68 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and won his first championship as the Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup game.[21] As a pending free agent in the following off-season, Stanback was granted an early release on January 30, 2024.[21]
On February 6, 2024, the BC Lions announced that they had signed Stanback to a one-year contract.[22]