Player Bio:
"Juice" Williams gained his nickname from his high school coach because of his infectious personality. One of the top 100 recruits in the country out of West Orange High School in Orlando, he saw the field as a true freshman for the Irish in 2015 (21 carries, 81 yards, 3.9 ypc, one touchdown rushing; one kickoff return for 20 yards in seven games). In August 2016, he was arrested with teammates for marijuana possession and possessing a handgun without a license; the latter charged was later dropped when a teammate confessed to the handgun possession. Williams was given one year of probation, playing in 12 games that fall (39 carries, 200 yards, 5.1 average, three touchdowns rushing; four receptions, 16 yards receiving; four kickoff returns, 67 yards, 16.8 average). He played in 10 games his junior season, missing three contests with an ankle injury but averaged 9.2 yards per carry (39 carries, 360 yards, four touchdowns rushing; two receptions, 13 yards, one touchdown receiving). Williams finally became Notre Dame's top rusher in his senior campaign, though he only played in nine games (eight starts) due to a suspension for undisclosed reasons that cost him the first month of the season. He rushed for 995 yards and 12 scores on 158 carries (6.3 per) while also catching 16 passes out of the backfield for 133 yards (8.3 average) and a touchdown.
Analysis:
Draft Projection: Round 4
NFL Comparison: Rashard Mendenhall
Overview:
Ascending every-down running back prospect who showed major flashes of becoming an NFL starter in his most active season to date. Williams runs with a good combination of feel, force and juice, which allows for a variety of methods in creating yards for himself. His evaluation could require additional character work and his relative lack of experience could mean a slower integration into an NFL offense; however, he offers exciting upside with the talent to become a productive, NFL starter.Strengths:
- Possesses adequate NFL size with good flexibility
- Stepped into bell-cow role with ease
- Had four games with 140-plus yards and averaged a touchdown run every 12 carries
- Understands block development and where lanes will originate
- Adequate decisiveness as interior runner
- Presses line of scrimmage to set blockers up for success
- Loose hips to flow where his eyes take him
- Processes traffic quickly to work away from peek-a-boo gap-fitters
- Impressive acceleration
- Mashes gas to win foot races to corner or hit the home run
- Runs with square pads and drops heavy, pre-emptive blows on tacklers
- Small career workload for fresh NFL legs
- Ball security has been excellent in relatively limited work.
Weaknesses:
- Small sample size with limited tape against quality competition
- Never more than 39 carries in a single season before 2018
- Has an arrest (2016) and four-game suspension (2018) in his background
- Slew-footed running style can affect balance through cuts
- Needs to step in and square blitzers rather than defaulting to body rolls
- Easier to upend in space because of narrow running base
- Vision goes from good to average after he's past the line of scrimmage
- Average elusiveness in open field
