Ex-Gamecock Williams checks all boxes

FAYETTEVILLE -- One of Philly's finest has found what looks like the perfect college fit late in his career with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Running back David Williams, once a prime recruiting target for Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema when he was head coach at Wisconsin in 2012, has taken a long, winding route to the Ozark Mountains.

The Philadelphia native signed with South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier in the Class of 2013 over a wide array of offers. Though he earned four starts as a redshirt sophomore with the Gamecocks in 2015, he was not able to hold on to the role as lead tailback, particularly after Will Muschamp took over the program in the winter of 2015 after Spurrier's in-season resignation.

After graduating from South Carolina in May with a degree in retail management, Williams elected to transfer for his senior year, and he picked Bielema and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville over Connecticut.

Williams will get his only crack at the Gamecocks on Saturday in his old stomping grounds of Williams-Brice Stadium when the Razorbacks (2-2, 0-1 SEC) head to Columbia, S.C., for an interdivision SEC battle.

"I'm looking forward to the season in general, but that game stands out on my calendar," Williams said early in camp. "Me and Coach Muschamp just didn't see eye to eye. He didn't recruit me. I was one who Coach Spurrier recruited, so I understand it was business or whatever, but I just felt I needed a fresh start."

Williams, Arkansas' scoring leader with five touchdowns through four games, has found his fresh start with the Hogs. The 6-1, 229-pounder -- who needs 3 rushing yards Saturday to reach 1,000 in his career -- is second on the team behind tailback Devwah Whaley with 47 touches.

He debuted at Arkansas with two rushing touchdowns in a 49-7 victory over Florida A&M. Less than two weeks ago, Williams had a breakout game in a 50-43 loss in overtime to Texas A&M with a career-high 3 touchdowns on 68 rushing yards and 28 receiving yards.

Bielema said Monday he met with Williams on Sunday night, and the two agreed it would be better for him to avoid media interviews this week so as not to overhype his return to South Carolina.

"He still has friends on the team, so I'm sure they've been talking off and on all year," Arkansas running backs coach Reggie Mitchell said. "His approach to the game hasn't been any different though, which is good. He always prepares himself really well for the games."

Williams has rushed for 203 yards on 43 carries, an average of 4.7 yards per carry.

Whaley, a sophomore tailback, said Williams hasn't been very talkative about playing his former team.

"David's just been kind of quiet about it," Whaley said. "He's been working hard, practicing hard. He doesn't want it to be a distraction."

Williams' teammates and coaches have spoken fondly of his traits as a teammate, as a positive influence in the locker room and as a productive player for the past two months.

"Maturity, hard work, just an overall team player, that's how I describe him," quarterback Austin Allen said. "He's a guy who everyone wants to hang out with in the locker room, and he understands team concepts.

"When he gets in, he's a heck of a football player. We're really glad to have him, love him, and he's a big part of our offense."

Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said nothing has surprised him about Williams.

"The guy has played football in college and he's graduated, so obviously he's bright," Enos said. "Before we bring anyone in here we always investigate about their character.

"I mentioned something to Austin Allen in practice the other day. I said, 'Boy, that was a nice free agent acquisition there, wasn't it?' I wasn't surprised with Austin's answer, 'Coach, he's a great guy, too,' and he said he fits in real well.

"The biggest credit to David probably is he's come in, fit in and been a good teammate, earning the respect of all the guys in the locker room."

Mitchell said Williams arrived for the second session of summer school, when the coaches were on vacation, and picked up the offense by working with teammates.

"He's been a great guy in the running backs room," Mitchell said. "You can tell he's a mature guy. It's been a blessing to have him here."

Muschamp had nothing but praise for Williams when asked about him at SEC media days in July and again this week.

"I'm happy for David," Muschamp said on his Sunday teleconference. "David's a good young man. He did everything we asked when he was here at South Carolina.

"He came to me when the year was over and said he wanted a fresh start. He was graduating in May, and I totally granted his wish and opportunity. He's a first-class person, and he's a really good player. I wish he was here. But at the end of the day, he wanted a fresh start."

Williams appeared on the brink of signing with UConn in the summer, but Bielema was persistent in asking him to give the Razorbacks a look. Arkansas had lost 1,360-yard rusher Rawleigh Williams on the last day of spring drills April 29, and Bielema was focused on getting another veteran into his backfield.

Williams spoke about his second wave of college recruiting in August.

"I was originally supposed to go to Connecticut, and then Coach B and all of them just reached out to me," he said. "Then I just sat down with my family and I thought I would challenge myself. I knew if I went to UConn I would start right away with no competition. I thought I would come out here and see where I stand with the best of the best."

The fact that Arkansas needed a veteran to make up for the loss of Rawleigh Williams played a role in David Williams' decision.

"That played a huge part, too, but I just thought I wouldn't get better settling, so I wanted to push myself and see where I could turn out in the future."

Whaley did his best to sell Williams on signing with the Razorbacks. Whaley took him out to eat during Williams' on-campus visit, and the pair stayed in touch afterward.

"When coach brought me in to talk about it, I was 100 percent go with it because you know, for one, David has a lot of experience," Whaley said early in camp. "It's just a help with him coming in and picking up the offense very fast."

Williams and Whaley have teamed with true freshman Chase Hayden to present one of the SEC's top three-man tailback packs.

Whaley ran for 119 yards last week to take over the team lead with 249 rushing yards, just ahead of Hayden's 246 yards. Williams has 203 rushing yards and is tied with Hayden with four rushing touchdowns. Whaley has two.

Sports on 10/04/2017