Pooka Williams Jr.
Anthony “Pooka” Williams Jr.[1] is an American football running back at the University of Kansas. He was named First Team All-Big 12 as a Freshman[2] and as a sophomore.[3] Despite his individual success, the teams Williams has played on have not enjoyed much success as the Jayhawks have a 6–21 record with him on the roster.
| Kansas Jayhawks – No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Class | Junior |
| Major | Sports management |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| High school | Hahnville (Boutte, Louisiana) |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| |
High school
Williams attended high school at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana. As a senior he ran for 3,118 yards and 37 touchdowns.[1] Hahnville lost in the Louisiana 5A State Championship his senior year.[4] Williams was a four-star recruit out of high school, according to ESPN.com. He received offers from LSU, Memphis, Kansas, Mississippi State, and TCU. On February 12, 2017, he committed to Kansas.[5]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pooka Williams Jr. RB |
New Orleans, LA | Hahnville | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 7, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 | ||||||
College career
Freshman season
Williams played his first game at Kansas in their second game of the season against Central Michigan. He ran for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns as he helped lead Kansas to their first road victory since 2009.[6] The following week, he rushed 161 yards and 1 touchdown. He would go on to rush for over 100 yards two more times during the season, including recording 252 rushing yards against Oklahoma.[1] Williams finished the season with 1,125 yards and 7 touchdowns. For his performance as a freshman, Williams was named 1st Team All-Big 12 and Offensive Freshman of the Year.[2]
Following the end of his freshman season, Williams was arrested for domestic battery on December 7, 2018. Following the arrest, new Kansas Head Coach Les Miles announced that he will be suspended from team activities during the investigation.[7] On January 9, 2019, he was granted a diversion for his arrest.[8]
Sophomore season
On July 8, 2019, Kansas announced that Williams was reinstated from his suspension for his arrest. He did, however, serve a 1 game suspension for the Jayhawks season opener against Indiana State.[9] Prior to the season, Williams was named Preseason 1st team All-Big 12.[10] He made his season debut against Coastal Carolina rushing for 99 yards and zero touchdowns in the Jayhawks 7–12 loss. The following week against Boston College, he rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown helping the Jayhawks to their first Power Five conference road win in 48 games.[11] He would rush for over 100 yards three more times during the season, including a season high 190 yards in a 48–50 loss to Texas. Williams finished the season with 1,042 becoming only the second Jayhawk, along with James Sims, to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He also broke College Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers record for most rushing yards in a player’s first two seasons.[12] He was named 1st team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive season.[3]
Junior season
On July 16, 2020, Williams was named pre-season 1st team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive season.[13] He was also named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, which awards the nation's overall best player.[14] In the Jayhawks first game of the season, he rushed for 67 yards and no touchdowns in the 23–38 loss. The following week against Baylor, he had 100 yards of total offense (76 rushing, 24 receiving) and rushed for two touchdowns in the 14–47 loss. On October 18, he was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in a loss to West Virginia. The following day he announced he would be opting out of the remainder of the season to be closer to his mother and family in Louisiana. He released a statement on Twitter saying: "Family and health are the most important things to me. Right now I need to be with my mother, who is battling health issues. I want to thank Coach Miles and everyone with the Kansas Football program for their commitment and understanding." However, he did not state any intent to transfer, enter the 2021 NFL Draft, or if he would return for the 2021 season.[15]
References
- "Pooka Williams Player Profile". KUAthletics.com.
- "2018 Big 12 Football Awards" (PDF). Big12Sports.com.
- "2019 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big 12 Conference. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- "Champs again! Keilon Brown leads Zachary to 2nd title in three years with win over Hahnville". TheAdvocate.com.
- "Quintet of Louisiana commits supercharge Kansas' 2018 recruiting class". Rivals.com.
- "Kansas snaps 46-game road skid with 31-7 win at C. Michigan". CBSSports.com.
- "Kansas suspends RB Pooka Williams after assault arrest". USAToday.com.
- "KU running back Pooka Williams granted diversion for domestic battery charge". KansasCity.com.
- "Kansas reinstates Pooka Williams, to miss opener". ESPN.com.
- "Preseason All-Big 12 team" (PDF). Big12Sports.com.
- "Jayhawks break 48-game road skid vs. Power 5". ESPN.com.
- "Pooka Williams Jr., Breaks 1,000 Yards in Back-to-Back Seasons". KUAthletics.com.
- "Pooka Williams Jr. and Andrew Parchment Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team". KUAthletics.com.
- "90 Players Named to 2020 Maxwell Award Watch List". Fanbuzz.com.
- "Kansas RB Pooka Williams opts out of rest of 2020 season, citing 'family and health reasons'". ESPN.com.
- "Pooka Williams stats". Sports-Reference.com.