South Carolina fans might remember the name Matrick Belton. He joined the team in 2014 as a walk-on wide receiver, but had to sit out during the Gamecocks' season. That was back in the day when the NCAA required players like Belton, who had transferred from Hampton, to sit out a season.
But professional wrestling fans might know Belton by a different name— Trick Williams. The WWE star was featured in a recent article by The Athletic's Chris Vannini. In it, he details arriving to South Carolina with just 14 cents to his name.
He decided to walk on to the Gamecocks following a dream 2013 season in Columbia. That year, South Carolina finished 11-2, and ranked in the top-five in the final AP poll. Despite joining 100 players who hoped to walk on to the team, Belton was one of eight players that made it.
Here's an excerpt via The Athletic on what Williams thinks made him stand out to South Carolina's coaches, including Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier:
He remembers Spurrier noticing how high he could jump and making Belton the jump-ball receiver. Before spring practice, Spurrier told the team their goal was, essentially, to just play football. Belton closed his notebook without writing anything down, because there wasn’t anything to write.
“He could see what everybody was good at,” Belton said of Spurrier. “He never overcomplicated anything. His plays were easy to digest. He was just a cool guy.”
Latest 2026 NFL mock draft projections for former South Carolina stars
Belton played in all 12 games for South Carolina in 2015, making five starts. He finished with 11 catches for 121 yards, averaging 11 yards per catch. Spurrier resigned midseason, and the receiver played in eight games in head coach Will Muschamp's first season in Columbia in 2016. He was undrafted in 2017, and briefly played in the XFL before first trying out for the WWE in 2018. He signed his first deal with the wrestling league in 2021.
In between football and getting his big break in the WWE, he held various different jobs to make ends meet. Those included working an assistant coach and student-teacher intern at Airport High School School in West Columbia, working as a DoorDash driver and online teacher. He also made appearances in music videos and on television shows while training at KnokX pro wrestling academy in Los Angeles.
He is a two-time NXT Champion, and won the TNA World Championships in May 2025. Safe to say continually betting on himself has worked out well for Williams, even if it's been a long road for him to get to this point.
Add us as a preferred source on Google