Kentucky Football: Don’t Forget About Boom Williams
The Kentucky football program has won four of its past five games, but to get through the final stretch of the season, it’ll need to feed Boom Williams.
The Kentucky football program has one of the best running backs in the country in Stanley Boom Williams. Though the local hype may be surrounding a different Kentucky running back, Williams remains one of the best players in the nation.
Yet, based on his usage in 2016, it appears as though the Wildcats’ coaching staff has begun to forget about Williams.
It’s never easy to call plays when there are so many gifted players at one position. As Benny Snell Jr. emerges as a star-caliber player and Jojo Kemp makes plays in the red zone, it’s certainly understandable for Kentucky to keep Williams on the sideline for a reasonable number of plays.
In 2016, however, Williams’ missed possessions have spanned beyond reason.
Williams set a school record with an average of 7.1 yards per carry in 2015 and has an identical average through seven games in 2016. Injuries limited his availability a season ago, but he’s been generally healthy this year.
Of those who have been active for all seven games, one could easily make the case that he’s been Kentucky’s most reliable and explosive player.
Through seven games, Williams has 639 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That puts him on pace to record 1,095 rushing yards over the span of a 12-game season.
Williams ran for 181 yards against New Mexico State, 123 against South Carolina, 99 against Mississippi State, and 94 against Southern Mississippi. He even gained 66 yards on 12 carries against Florida—5.5 yards per carry.
He tallied 54 yards on nine attempts against Vanderbilt, which is good for an average of 6.0 yards per carry.
Production clearly isn’t an issue with Williams; touches are. That’s surprising when one considers the fact that the games during which he ran for at least 100 yards were the only two games this season that he received at least 15 carries.
In an almost ironic twist of fate, the 99 yards that he ran for against Mississippi State were achieved on 14 carries.
Kentucky is currently 3-0 when Williams gets at least 14 carries and 1-3 when he doesn’t. Though his performance against the Alabama Crimson Tide was underwhelming, he’s been otherwise consistent—a success rate of six out of seven games played.
So why can’t he get the ball as often as his talent permits?
Benny Snell Jr. may be on the rise, but when Williams should still be getting more consistent touches. There’s no reason he can’t get upwards of 15 carries per game, especially when he’s only had one ineffective outing all season.
Thus, while it may be easy to focus on the future, with an underwhelming passing attack, the Wildcats should be pounding the rock.
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Benny Snell Jr. needs his touches, but so does Boom Williams.