SPRINGDALE — Editor’s Note: Northwest Arkansas Newspapers is profiling each of the 2011 Springdale Hall of Fame Inductees. The hall of fame banquet will be Aug. 6 at the Springdale High cafeteria.
The Williams family is well known in the Springdale community, mainly for legendary football coach Jarrell Williams, who built a football powerhouse and whose name is affixed to Bulldog Stadium.
On Aug. 6, another Williams will join the Springdale High Athletic Hall of Fame — Jarrell Williams’ son, Jeff .
Jeff Williams quarterbacked the Bulldogs during the 1980 season when Springdale made its way to the Class 4A State Championship game before falling to Sylvan Hills.
Williams said he was honored to be inducted to the Hall of Fame and that one of his best memories from the team wasn’t making it all the way to the state title game, but rather what the Bulldogs did in the conference championship.
“We beat Fayetteville to win the conference that year,” he said. “It was the start of 13 wins in a row for Springdale over Fayetteville and I think they went on to reel off 18 of 19.”
According to Williams, the 1980 Bulldogs were the smallest team ever coached by his father, with only two players weighing more than 200 pounds, one being the kicker. Under center, Williams stood 5-foot-11 and weighed 170 pounds.
He called himself small, slow and a mediocre signal-caller at best, but former Springdale basketball and assistant football coach Charlie Smith remembered Williams in a diff erent light.
“He reminded me of a Joe Montana. He had quick feet and got back in the pocket quickly,” Smith said. “He performed admirably and did a good job as a leader, executing the off ense.”
Along with football, Williams played basketball for three seasons at Springdale and was teammates with fellow Class of 2011 Hall of Fame inductee Allen Carmack.
After graduating from Springdale in 1981, Williams played football for one season at Arkansas Tech before transferring to Arkansas to focus on a degree in accounting.
Today, Williams is the chief financial officer for America’s Car-Mart in Bentonville and is a member of the Springdale School Board. He has been married to his wife, Christine, for 20 years and the couple has fi ve children. The eldest, Whitney, graduated from Springdale in May and will be attending Texas A&M in the fall.