Williams ready to establish himself as No. 1 back

Jamarcus King story | Perry Orth puts team first

David Williams was a four-star running back coming out of high school. His senior season he rushed for almost 2,000 yards on 195 carries. Since then? He’s rushed for 131 times for 555 yards in two seasons.

After redshirting during the 2013 season, he’s played in 21 of a possible 25 games, starting four of them.

His career-high in rushes in a game? Fourteen, against UCF. His number of 100-yard games? One, against Furman.

Being a backup to Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds, both of whom are on NFL rosters to start August, it was hard for Williams to show why he was brought to Carolina and he spent most of his first two seasons on the bench.

“It was tough. And at times it would mess with my confidence. I’d have a good week of practice and before the game they tell you to be ready and you’ll play a lot, but in the game I’d get the ball three or four times and go out. And any thing I do, if I mess up any little thing, I’m out. So I think I had a lot on my mind.”

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Now, he’s the most senior of the team’s running backs and will be the go-to back in Kurt Roper’s wide-open offensive system. The new role is refreshing for the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Williams, who said now he’s studying his playbook more, meeting with coaches more and doing everything differently as the new starter.

And he’ll be operating with more of a safety net this year, not having to worry about being pulled after one mistake.

“I get to play my game, I feel like. I’m not thinking about messing up or what they’ll think if I do this or that. I get to play. I actually get to play.”

The Gamecocks are starting fall camp with a new coaching staff, including new running backs coach Bobby Bentley.

Williams said the transition to Bentley as his coach has been nothing but positive, with Bentley telling the backs he works for them and is there for them whenever a player needs them.

Bentley and Roper are working to install an offense Williams said will features around 25 carries per game. South Carolina’s running backs last season averaged 22 carries per game. Williams said getting an increased ground attack going is, “joy to my ears.”

“That’s great for me,” he said. “I’m one of those running backs where the more carries I get, the better I am. I get a feel for the game. Being a running back, I think you need to get a feel for a game. And you can’t go out and break 100 yards off five or six carries in the SEC. It’s unrealistic.”

The Philadelphia, Penn. native will try to live up to the four-star potential he came into college with and kick start an offense that averaged only 154.7 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry last season.

And with Williams ready to lead the pack, he’s ready to show this season why he was brought to South Carolina.

“My ceiling’s high,” he said. “People get to see the running back they saw in high school and the running back they recruited.”

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