IRVING, Texas — One of the first things Roy Williams did Wednesday was put his black cowboy boots on.

The Cowboys' new wide receiver is back home.

In Texas.

The Odessa native was greeted by his two older brothers, his mother and his son at Valley Ranch on Wednesday.

"I had so many emotions, from happy to sad," Williams said. "I'm sad for leaving my teammates back in Detroit, but happy to be a part of something special here and especially being back home, being five hours away from Odessa, Texas. That's a great feeling."

Growing up, Williams looked up to his oldest brother, Lloyd Hill, who preceded him at Odessa Permian and played for Texas Tech.

Hill led the NCAA with a school-record 1,261 receiving yards as a junior in 1992. When Hill left Tech, he held almost every major school receiving record. Hill is still tied with Carter's Michael Crabtree with 14 100-yard games.

"Well, his name wasn't Roy Williams, it was Lloyd's little brother back then," Hill said. "Now that he's in the NFL, my name is Roy's brother. Growing up, all he was getting was, 'Are you going to be like your brother?' In his mind, he was going to play wide receiver."

After college, Hill was cut by the Chicago Bears, then played in the Arena and Canadian football leagues.

Hill, who works for an insurance company in Dallas, said he's living through his brother.

"I'm calling and critiquing him, and I watch all his games," Hill said. "We get into heated battles because I see some things he should be working on. It's a respect thing. I want him to be the receiver he could be."

Playing for the Lions has taken a toll on Williams the last five years.

Detroit was 21-48 with Williams on the team, and after an Oct. 5 loss to Chicago, Williams was in the locker room for two hours.

"The workers were gone," Williams' mother, Chris Hill, said. "He came out and it seemed like everything was drained from him. To see him revive back is a blessing. I didn't want him to end up like Barry Sanders and give it up because he couldn't take the losing anymore. Roy never really lost much when he was at Texas. He can take it, but it was hard for him."

Williams' excitement about joining the Cowboys has extended to his family. Chris Hill said there was a big celebration in Odessa on Tuesday once word got out that the Cowboys had acquired him.

The biggest problem Williams has now is finding tickets for all his family and friends in Dallas and Odessa.

"We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," Williams' brother Tracy said. "When we finally got the call, his first words to me were, 'I'm on my way, dawg."'