Hog Calls

Loss of Williams will be felt by many

Arkansas' Jonathan Williams speaks to reporters at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days, Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Arkansas' Jonathan Williams speaks to reporters at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days, Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks and their fans aren't alone in missing Jonathan Williams.

Arkansas media will miss him, too. Standup people who happen to be standout athletes are appreciated by all media in it for the long haul covering a college football beat.

Williams,a senior running back, injured his left foot during Saturday's scrimmage and underwent surgery Monday. Williams will miss the 2015 season, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said, save possibly a bowl game if his rehab schedule allows him to be game fit by then.

Williams never redshirted and has a fifth year of eligibility available. Of course Bielema extends a standing invitation for him to return, but the coach said he presumes "it would be in his best interest" for Williams to turn pro for the 2016 NFL draft.

A 1,190-yard rusher last season after rushing for 900 yards as a sophomore in 2013, Williams was projected as a third rounder for the 2015 draft. He opted to return to the UA to complete his degree while striving to improve his draft stock and continue playing an integral part of a Razorbacks resurgence.

The Hogs went 7-6 last year after wallowing at 4-8 and 3-9 during Williams' freshman and sophomore seasons. Arkansas won three of its last four games for 2015. That generated nonstop optimism until Williams' injury.

It's Bielema's job to release the brakes and generate the momentum again.

Hence Bielema's quote Monday: "It's not a setback in any way, shape or form. It's an opportunity for others to take a step forward."

In cold print that reads cold-blooded.

But anybody around the game knows Bielema must show his team that the show must go on, and that with junior running back Alex Collins, who exceeded 1,000 yards rushing in 2013 and 2014, and 260-pound fourth-year big back Kody Walker and freshman speedster Rawleigh Williams it will go on.

Besides, Bielema respects Jonathan Williams as much or more than any Razorback he ever coached.

Of the recruits signed by former coach Bobby Petrino, Williams changed his game most of all to suit Bielema's offense.

Signed by Petrino but playing for John L. Smith in his misbegotten 2012 interim season, Williams excelled as an out of the backfield receiver wit 8 catches for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Along came Bielema and his power offense, and Williams instantly became a power back. Whatever his coaches want represented, Williams represents it great on the field and even greater off it.

That's why players flock to Jonathan Williams for leadership and why media members flock to him for interviews.

Bielema touts uncommon men, but it's common sense that is most commonly respected.

Williams has it, and his teammates sense it. So do media. They know Williams supplies incisive perspectives without the cliches of those who ultimately say nothing or those inevitably muzzled because they step out of bounds.

In December Williams will earn his bachelor's degree in communications.

Given how he communicates, it deserves advancing directly to doctorate.

Sports on 08/19/2015

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