FAYETTEVILLE — Freshman tailback Rawleigh Williams earned the nickname “The Shadow” this summer around the Arkansas football program for his constant tailing of senior tailback Jonathan Williams.
Now, since Jonathan Williams has been lost for the regular season with a foot injury, The Shadow knows his shot at early playing time is on his doorstep.
“You hate to get it the way you got it, but … I feel like this is an opportunity for me to show that I deserve to be here,” Rawleigh Williams said.
The younger Williams tried to absorb everything he could from Jonathan Williams, who was the second-leading returning rusher in the SEC with 1,190 yards. Rawleigh Williams said the older back’s work ethic is the trait he has most tried to emulate.
“I mean, that guy is the hardest worker I’ve known,” he said. “Since Day One, this guy wants to be first in everything. … He’s just a competitor. That’s something I feel like I am.”
Coach Bret Bielema said his best running attacks have always featured three rotating rushers.
Junior Alex Collins, a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his first two seasons, is expected to fill the lead back role he shared with Jonathan Williams the past two seasons, with combo back Kody Walker and Rawleigh Williams the next two in line, followed by Denzel Evans.
Collins said he has not discussed how many more carries he might pick up this season.
“I don’t have a number,” he said. “However many they give me, I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”
Collins has averaged 15.8 carries per game in his Arkansas career, with a high of 27 carries for 212 yards at Texas Tech last season. Williams averaged 14.4 carries per game in the same time span.
Collins’ ability to handle a heavier load should be enhanced this year after he lost more than 20 pounds to get down to 215 in camp.
“Alex is in playing shape,” Bielema said early last week. “I think we could go play a game with him right now.”
Collins said his weight reduction led to exactly what he wanted.
“I’m hitting the holes faster,” he said. “I just feel stronger, like I can run through tackles and whatnot.”
Collins scored on a 43-yard run in the first scrimmage when he made a dazzling cut and had a couple of other runs where he dragged defenders for several yards. The junior, who joined Darren McFadden as the only Arkansas backs to rush for 1,000 or more yards in each of their first two seasons, did not play in the second scrimmage last Saturday.
Trimming down in the offseason was designed to help Collins’ stamina, while Walker, from Jefferson City, Mo., put on weight to reach 260 pounds in anticipation of being a lead blocker and also a heavier tailback. Walker, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility this summer that would take him through 2016, ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the Red-White spring finale.
“He has great feet,” first-year running backs coach Jemal Singleton said. “He was really one of the best surprises I got this spring.
“Obviously there was a lot of talk about the other backs that I had in the room and there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Kody Walker, but the more I got to know him and the more I got to see him play, I think I have a pretty good hidden gem there.”
Walker said he still splits time between fullback and tailback and that he should present defenses with a different challenge.
“A.C. is that home-run guy and I’m that big-bruiser guy,” Walker said, grinning. “So it’s definitely a change of pace because I’m different from A.C. or Rawleigh.”
The Hogs’ pen of running backs still makes for a stout combination, Bielema said.
“I said … after last spring watching Kody go, there’s no doubt in my mind if Kody was in the No. 2 spot in our offense he could go for 1,000,” Bielema said. “I think Rawleigh, I’d feel the same way about right now, and Denzel looks extremely talented.”
Singleton said Williams’ improvement at learning about pass protection and other nuances outside of running the ball should increase steadily.
“Rawleigh is a smart kid,” he said. “You look at his high school transcript and where he was academically and he’s a sharp young man.
“He is learning where to be. We have to teach him a little more on getting things accomplished once he’s there in pass protection, the fundamentals of how to block. You’re blocking bigger guys than he’s used to blocking, but he is progressing really well.”
Rawleigh Williams’ lessons learned as the tag-along for Jonathan Williams could pay big dividends if Arkansas has the type of running game Bielema and offensive coordinator Dan Enos envision.
“He’s just such a refreshing kid to coach,” Bielema said. “By no means is he ready to go out there right now and play every down, but he’ll get there day by day. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a freshman at any position concentrate as much as he does.”