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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Senior running back Joe Williams almost didn't play in the Foster Farms Bowl game. Sickness had overcome his body, and his ability to play was in doubt.
“Joe was so sick (Tuesday) night he couldn't come to the team meeting and was running a temperature,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We weren't positive we were going to have him.”
Williams was “feeling sinuses and a bad cough and everything.” However, on Wednesday morning he said he felt good enough to play, despite not being 100 percent.
He said his wife of only a few weeks gave him a sort of pep talk prior to the game, adding that the bowl would be his “last ride” at Utah and that he should try to play.
“We prepared well these last three weeks and I just had to go out there like (Michael) Jordan did in ’97 in the ‘Flu Game,’” Williams said, referencing Jordan’s 38-point performance in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz while suffering from flu-like symptoms. The win propelled the Chicago Bulls to their first of back-to-back NBA championships against the Jazz.
Whittingham described Williams as not having the “stamina he usually has” and that he “wasn't at full capacity or stamina and was pretty run down.”
“You could see after a couple of carries he needed to come out and get rest and then come back in,” Whittingham added.
Although under the weather, Williams dominated the game with 222 rushing yards and one touchdown, only growing stronger and more aggressive as the game went on. His performance led him to be named the game’s offensive MVP, capping off a rare but storybook season at Utah.
Whittingham described Williams’ night as a “fantastic performance,” despite fumbling the ball late in the game. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter and down one point to Indiana, Williams ran the ball with intensity and refused to be brought down by defenders. His aggressive runs propelled Utah into field goal range where place-kicker Andy Phillips drilled a 27-yard field goal to give the Utes an eventual 26-24 victory over Indiana.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Joe, and to go out and end his career as a Ute on that note with the win and his production tonight was great,” Whittingham said.
The once retired running back finished the year as one of the most compelling stories of the season, having retired after two games due to injury and loss of playing time. Prior to his retirement, Williams looked timid, slow and unsure of his role as a starter despite claiming that role the year prior after Devontae Booker suffered a season-ending knee injury.
After Utah sustained several injuries at the running back position, including a season-ending injury to starter Armand Shyne, Williams was asked to come back. In his return, Williams looked like an entirely new and rejuvenated player.
In seven games, Williams rushed for 1,332 yards, including a 332-yard effort on the road against UCLA, and averaged 7.49 yards per carry. Against the Hoosiers, Williams averaged 8.54 yards per carry.
Williams ended the season with 1,407 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, ranking him fourth all-time in Utah history. Only John White IV (1,519), Devontae Booker (1,512) and Carl Monroe (1,507) had more yards in a season than Williams; however, Williams did it in fewer games than White and Booker.
He finishes his career at Utah holding the single-game record for rushing yards at 332, beating out Mike Anderson’s 254-yard performance against Fresno State in 1999, and the average rushing yards per game at 156.33, beating out Carl Monroe’s average of 137.00 in 1982.
Williams is tied with three other former Utes (Carl Monroe, 1982; Eddie Johnson, 1984; Mike Anderson, 1999) for first in school history for rushing for over 200 yards in two games in a season and career. He is also tied for second with five other former Utes for five consecutive games rushing over 100 yards.
“Everybody asks me if I have any regrets, and I don’t. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” Williams said.
Williams added that the support he received throughout his playing time and retirement from the coaches, players and fans is a big reason why he came to Utah.
“When I came back they welcomed me with open arms. It just adds to the fuel that I wanted to give and have each game,” Williams said. “I always tell coach Whitt that I’m so grateful to have him in my life and to give me that second opportunity. It’s just something that I’ll always remember as being a Ute.”
