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SALT LAKE CITY — Joe Williams had embraced the retired life.
“I know people will make jokes about it, but I was really just being retired. Just focusing on school … just relaxing really.”
At 23 years old, Williams had given up his hopes of playing football at the collegiate level and was planning on the next phase of his life once he graduated from the University of Utah in the fall with a degree in sociology.
Williams had spent the last two years at Utah repairing his image after some legal issues forced him off the team at Connecticut his sophomore season. Williams had been charged with larceny in 2013 for stealing a credit card to purchase items and had little hope to return to football.
"I was going to leave Connecticut after the situation and probably just go home and get a 9-5 (job) and probably fade into the sunset," Williams said shortly after joining Utah in 2015.
But after a stint at the junior college level at ASA College in Brooklyn, New York, Williams returned to Division I football as he anxiously waited for an opportunity behind star running back Devontae Booker at Utah. Williams delivered when Booker suffered a season-ending knee injury, adding another strong presence to Utah’s run game.
Williams would finish the season with 477 rushing yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.59 yards per carry. His best game of the season came in the regular-season finale against Colorado, where he rushed for 187 yards and one touchdown.
Coming into the 2016 season, Williams was expected to be the premier running back and the most experienced as a senior. His workload would be less than that of his predecessor, with Utah adding to its offense several talented receivers and backup running backs, but he would still contribute significantly to the makeup of Utah’s offensive schemes.
After struggling in his first two games of the season, where he totaled only 75 rushing yards and two fumbles, and lacked the aggressiveness needed to bully opposing defenses, Williams decided retirement was the best course of action.
"I'm feeling that this is the right decision. I'm going to miss it, of course, playing with these guys. We're all family here and we're all boys. But it's for my best interest and I'm happy with my decision," Williams said in September after the BYU game. "I've been playing this sport since I was 6 years old, and it's just caught up with me. It would be detrimental to me in five years from now and could give me complications."
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham added that Williams’ departure had “nothing to do with playing time, nothing to do with any bad feelings. He’s just leaving on good terms" and that “his body is just worn out.”
"I think he just knows that he’s not the same guy and he’s got some things that are really bothering him right now, physically,” Whittingham said. "It was a surprise in a way, but I could tell something was bothering him. It explains a lot.”
But 28 days after declaring his retirement from football, Williams was once again asked to come back to fill a desperate need for his former team. Three running backs sustained injuries that would keep them out of play for an extended period of time, including a season-ending injury to the emerging talent of Armand Shyne.
Williams saw the injury-depleted roster, but said it “wasn’t my first impression to be back on the team.” However, after talking to his fiancée and close family members, Williams agreed to meet with the coaching staff to talk about a desire to return to football.
“It was us that reached out to Joe, given our situation at running back. We figured we’d test the waters with Joe and see what his interest level was — not interest level, but physically if he could do it,” Whittingham said. “He talked to the people that are close to him — family members — and when it was all said and done he felt like it was the right thing to do to come back and help the football team.”
“I made the decision more for the team than myself,” Williams said. “I just put all the injuries and the selfish attitude aside and just put it on the line for them. And I’m going to do that for the rest of the season.”
In his return game — a weathered road venture against Oregon State — Williams looked fresh and had an added aggressiveness that was missing in the first two games of the season. Williams finished the night with 179 rushing yards and one touchdown on 34 carries. He averaged 5.26 yards per carry and showed the ability to reignite Utah's ability to run the ball effectively.
Still, Williams felt out of condition and “got a little down on myself.” But added that he would “get back to work” to improve his game and help the team.
“Mentally, I feel good and confident for these next five games,” he said. “We’ll have a real-big finish and get into a good bowl game and a Pac-12 championship.”
