Jared Williams plans on playing next season after sitting on 2012 because of injury

Jared Williams expects to be back.

The former standout running back from Southeast and Bradenton Prep missed the entire 2012 campaign at SMU due to a leg injury he suffered at the conclusion of the 2011 season in the Mustangs bowl game.

Williams was granted a redshirt and is ready to compete for the starting running back job in 2013. The position should be wide open with the graduation of Zac Line, the Mustangs leading rusher the past three seasons when he gained more than 1,000 yards each year with 1,325 in 2012.

As a true fresman in 2011, Williams rushed for 180 yards with a single game high 80 yards on 11 carries against Rice. He will be a sophomore eligiblity wise next season.

The best part for Williams is that he will be able to play for his family and friends. SMU is slated to join the Big East Conference in '13 and is scheduled to play USF at Raymond James Stadium in a date to be determined.






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Jared Williams recovering from surgery after bowl game injury

SMU freshman Jared Williams was resting comfortably on Sunday recovering from surgery for a broken femur on Saturday night, according to his father Walt Williams.

The former Southeast/Bradenton Prep running back was injured in the fourth quarter of the BBVA Compass Bowl Saturday between SMU and Pittsburgh in Birmingham, Alabama.

(photo: Williams waves to crowd as he is carted off the field).

Williams tried to cut to his right when he was hit on his left leg by the helmet of Pittsburgh safety Andrew Taglianetti. He spent several minutes on the ground writing in pain until attended to be medical personnel and eventually carted off the field.

Williams had surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham. He hopes to be released on Monday and plans to come home to Bradenton with his parents, who were at the game.

“Jared actually broke his femur in two places, but he will be fine and the doctor said he should be ready to play in July,” Walt Williams said. “He is feeling a little distraught, but is in good spirits overall. It’s like anything in football. You get hurt, work to recover and move on from there.”

Walt Williams was sitting in the stands when the injury occurred and rushed down to the field to be with his son along with Jared’s mother.

“When I first saw the hit I immediately thought it was his knee, but he got hit high around the thigh” Walt Williams said. “They had to put a rod in his leg and he will be crutches for about two weeks. Right now he is eager to get into his rehab and be ready for practice in the summer. The rod shouldn’t affect him at all, not with his speed or anything else he does.”

It appeared Williams took a direct hit from Taglianetti’s helmet, but Walt Williams said he felt the play was clean.

“Its football and you have to expect anything when you are out there on the field,” Walt Williams said. “It was a freak accident and the process is now what do you do from here. Jared will be fine. He has been through a lot. Nothing has come easy to him.”

SMU won the game 28-6 and Williams was the leading rusher for the Mustangs with 40 yards on 11 carries.

Jared Williams number two running back for SMU: makes debut Sunday

Remember Jared Williams, the running back nobody seemed to want after he finished last season with Southeast High.

Well Williams may turn out to be one of the best college football stories in America before the 2011 season is all said and done.

The running back signed with SMU last summer, sort of an afterthought some said because the Mustangs needed some depth at the position.

Williams has turned out to be more than depth. SMU opens its season Sunday on Fox Sports Network in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Texas A&M and Williams is the backup running back on the depth chart.

When he arrived on campus during the summer, Williams was the fifth string running back. He leaped over several incumbents and 3-star recruit K.C. Nlemchi, a former All-State player from Texas and 2009 Houston Offensive Player of the Year.

"We are so happy for Jared. He has worked so hard to get to this point," said his father Walt Williams, the former athletic director and head football coach at the now defunct Bradenton
Prep.

Another good note for the family is that Jared was given number 22, which is the same number his dad had when he played at Southeast.

Williams is behind junior running back Zach Line, who was Conference USA's leading rusher last season.

Williams transferred to Southeast last year after Bradenton Prep shut down its football program. He had to get a waiver from the FHSAA to play at Southeast and when he finally did the season was nearly over.

The 5-9, 195 pound Williams was never in one-hundred percent shape, but he showed some tough running inbetween the tackles and an ability to make something out of nothing.

At Bradenton Prep, Williams ran for more than 5,500 yards. At Southeast, he gained 315 yards on 64 carries (4.9 avg)

Jared Williams chances at SMU look promising

Now that Jared Williams is officially a Mustang after signing a letter of intent with SMU this week what’s next?

It’s hard to tell what can happen at the college level especially for a running back, but the Southeast High graduate seems to have legitimate shot on getting a significant number of carries and enough playing to make him happy.

The Mustangs have one experienced running back returning in 6-1, 230 pound junior Zach Line, who rushed for 1,523 yards last season averaging 106.7 yards per game on the ground.

SMU signed only one running back in its 2011 class in Rivals.Com 3-star K.C. Nlemchi, a 6-0, 215 pounder from Katy, Texas, who was offered by Arkansas, Utah, Tulane and Tulsa. He rushed for 1,246 yards (6.5 avg) last season after gaining 2,388 (8.4 avg) as a junior.

The 5-10, 200 pound Williams gained more than 5,500 yards in three years at the former Bradenton Prep. In five games last season with Southeast he had 315 yards on 64 carries (4.9 avg).