Reunited: Pro Football Player And Pizza Hut Alum DeAngelo Williams Returns To Restaurant Company To Help Train Team For Big Game Deliveries

In addition to hiring 11,000 team members as lead up to The Big Game, the world's largest pizza restaurant company continues focus on fast, reliable service via the "Pizza Combine"

News provided by

Pizza Hut

Jan 31, 2017, 14:31 ET

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pizza Hut has reunited with pro football running back and former Pizza Hut team member DeAngelo Williams to create a series of videos that shine the spotlight on the commitment and dedication it takes to deliver a great experience on the day of the Big Game, the busiest pizza day of the year. The release of the videos follow the restaurant company's recent announcement to add 11,000 employees to ensure exceptional service for customers during pro football's Big Game.

Professional football running back DeAngelo Williams trains a delivery rookie at the Pizza Hut Delivery Combine, in advance of the Big Game - the restaurant company's busiest day of the year.

Professional football running back DeAngelo Williams (left) trains a delivery rookie (right) at the Pizza Hut Delivery Combine, in advance of the Big Game - the restaurant company's busiest day of the year. (AP Images for Pizza Hut)

Williams, member of the Pizza Hut Delivery Combine Class of 2000, stars in the Pizza Hut Delivery Combine videos as the coach and mentor for a new crop of trainees at a specialized Pizza Hut training facility where rookie delivery drivers hone their skills. In the videos, available on Pizza Hut's YouTube and Facebook pages, rookies get put through the wringer while attempting to master traditional combine drills with a pizza delivery twist.

"As a proud Pizza Hut alum, I know pro football players aren't the only ones working hard during the Big Game," said DeAngelo Williams, who handled several responsibilities during his time working at Pizza Hut. "Agility, balance and speed are important skills on the field and for pizza deliveries. These videos are a fun way to show the dedication Pizza Hut has to preparing its team members to provide the best customer experience during their busiest day of the year."

Challenges the rookies face include the Curb to Door Hustle, Lawn Flamingo Cone Drill and the Pen Search. First attempts show room for improvement, but through grit, determination and the love of pizza, the rookie becomes an all-star, ready to tackle any obstacle to make his deliveries. The videos also remind pizza fans how easy it is to be the MVP of their Big Game gatherings by pre-ordering their pizzas on PizzaHut.com.

The videos continue to demonstrate Pizza Hut's commitment to improving the overall customer experience, in conjunction with the announcement that the company is seeking to fill 11,000 job openings in advance of the Big Game. The company plans to staff a team of 150,000 across the country on Sunday, and the addition of the new team members will ensure Pizza Hut can provide quick and accurate service.

"No one works harder on the day of the big game than our team members and delivery drivers," said David Daniels, Vice President of Media and Advertising for Pizza Hut. "We love that DeAngelo is back with us to have some fun and help coach our rookies on how to best succeed with fast and accurate service during our busiest day of the year."

Pizza Hut anticipates selling more than 2 million pizzas during the hungriest day of the year for pizza fans – enough pizzas to cover a football field twice, or provide each attendee in Houston with 27.8 pizzas or 222 slices. Some other fun facts about Pizza Hut and the day of the big game include:

The day of the Big Game is the highest tipping day of the year
Drivers will log nearly 5 million miles on the day of the Big Game
Most popular pizza topping is pepperoni
Peak ordering time is exactly one hour before kickoff
More than 50 percent of orders come via digital channels, i.e. apps, pizzahut.com, Twitter and Facebook chatbot, Amazon Echo, and others
94 percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month
Average American eats about 46 slices a year

To view the Pizza Hut Delivery Combine videos, follow Pizza Hut on social media at Facebook.com/PizzaHut and YouTube.com/PizzaHut, and visit PizzaHut.com to pre-order pizzas for your Big Game party using the quick and easy online order service, including any two medium pizzas for $6.99 each to satisfy everyone on your team.

About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. The pizza restaurant began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to start a pizzeria.

What started out small has become the biggest pizza restaurant in the world and today operates more than 16,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than 630,000 classrooms nationwide. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com. Follow Pizza Hut on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PizzaHut), Twitter (www.twitter.com/pizzahut) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/pizzahut).