FAYETTEVILLE — Even big, strong football players can shed a tear every now and then, especially an alum dropping off his son to follow in his footsteps.
That was the case last Tuesday when former Razorbacks All-Southwest Conference linebacker Rickey Williams left his son and early enrollee defensive end Zach Williams on the Arkansas campus.
It was not his first experience at this, having dropped off Zach’s older sister a few years earlier.
“It was different with him, just going back to campus and walking around even though we have been back several times, but not like that,” the elder Williams said. “It just brought back a lot of great memories, but it really didn’t sink in until we got back home and then it really hit me.
“But we did leave there with a sense of peace, knowing that he is going to be in good hands, that academically he is going to be strong and athletically he is going to get stronger. It was hard to let him go, but in the end he has to be a man and here is where it starts.”
Joe T. Robinson defensive end Zach Williams (6-4, 235, 4.57), a four-star prospect per ESPN and 24/7, is one of nine early enrollees in the 2019 recruiting haul who will start classes at Arkansas on Monday.
“That was one of the biggest things that I had to work with him and his mother (Keli) on,” Williams said. “I went to him and said if you stop playing football in December…you are going to have all that time off like December to June before going to Arkansas and that is a lot of time for you to be sitting around doing idle things.
“I convinced him that if you go up there early, you can get a jump on your academics and you can get a jump on learning the playbook and getting bigger, stronger and faster physically and being ready to help contribute when it is your time.
“He took online courses, classes at school and he played football and was able to graduate early. It is a huge advantage. He can get acclimated, get to know the campus, decide who he is going to hang around with and who is not going to hang around with and also get a chance to hit the weight room, get the nutrition angle going.”
Williams chose Arkansas over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Oregon, Vanderbilt, Texas, Texas Tech TCU, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, California, Purdue and others.
The Williams took unofficial visits to many of those schools before Zach announced his commitment to Arkansas on July 5th.
“Life is strange and it is amazing how things work out,” Williams said. “When he chose Arkansas, it, of course, made my heart jump. But I wanted him to be sure that he knew what else was out there and that is why we wanted to show it so many other options.
“But when he finally decided that Arkansas was the place for him, I knew he made a good choice because I really believe in those group of coaches at Arkansas.”
The younger Williams had a big senior season with 97 tackles, 56 solo stops, with a team-best 31 for lost yardage. That included a team-leading 17 sacks totaling 165 yards whole also causing five fumbles and recovering a trio for a 12-3 team.
“If I was scouting Zach, I would say that he is long and he can run,” Williams said. “His frame will allow him to gain a lot of weight. I think by the time the summer is over that he will have put on another 25 pounds. He probably got down to 225 playing this season. But by the time the fall comes, he should be at 245 or 250.
“Playing against him, you are going to have to worry about the speed and the power rush. I think he may need a little time to get used to the speed of the SEC and the size such as a 6-, 330-pound offensive lineman. But I think once he gets accustomed to that in practiced gets accustomed to the SEC, the sky is the limit.”
He plans to major in biology and has a deep love for animals.
“It also made my belief in the choice more when we talked to people at the Dale Bumpers Animal Science Center and found out that he could study abroad and all the things that he could do,” Williams said. “You are talking to the wrong guy because I am very biased, but I am thrilled to death.”
Williams was impressed with how Arkansas defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell greeted his family upon arrival in Fayetteville on Tuesday.
“Coach Caldwell called us a couple of times just when we were driving up to check on us and I thought that was pretty cool,” Williams said. “We met Taylor Edwards and he took us over to the dorm and there’s Coach Caldwell sitting there and waiting for us and he helps us get our stuff in.
“ … He also called once we got back home just to see how we are doing. You can see they really care about every little thing. That’s what I am talking about. That’s family.
“It really ensured me that I had put my son in the right hands. He’s not looking for a father. He has one of those. He is looking for someone who will help mold him and continue that growth into a man.”
Arkansas’ dorms now are much more luxurious than Wilson Sharp was for Williams back in the 1980s.
“He has his own room, his own shower, he got lucky,” Williams said. “It is something else.”
During orientation, the older Williams ran into an old friend.
“I was talking with one of the professors who was finishing up her Master’s Degree when I was there in the 80s and I said that I never would have imagined that I would be sitting here with you enrolling my son,” Williams said. “It was surreal. These are things you don’t think about when you are an 18-year-old kid.”