FARMINGTON -- The reviews on Caleb Williams, the Farmington running back, are unanimously positive.
The reviews of Caleb Williams, the rapper, are mixed.
At A Glance
Caleb Williams
SCHOOL Farmington
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-9
WEIGHT 185
POSITION Running back/defensive end
NOTABLE Has rushed for 1,092 yards in his career after going over the 1,000-yard plateau with 222 yards and 4 touchdowns on a career-high 27 carries in a 61-41 home victory over Clarksville last week. … Has worked the past two years at a powersports dealership and rides a 390 KTM motorcycle to school each day.
"He's a rapping fool," said Cardinals quarterback Trey Waggle. "I love it. It's awesome. I'd definitely give it a 10 out of 10. I'd recommend it, for sure. His rap group name is 'Snogard,' which is 'dragons' backward because they spit fire."
"It's pretty bad," said defensive end Jacob Gray. "The beats are good, but him rapping is pretty funny."
Good thing Williams can run.
Farmington's 5-foot-9, 185-senior ran for 222 yards and 4 touchdowns to help the Cardinals (2-2, 1-0 5A-West) defeat Clarksville 61-41 at home last week. Williams has 81 carries for 571 yards at an average clip of 142.5 yards per game heading into tonight's conference tilt at Alma (2-2, 1-0).
"For us to be successful, we're going to have to run the football," said Farmington coach Mike Adams. "We've done a pretty good job all year long and Caleb Williams has been a big part of that."
Williams credited the offensive line for his success. At a Wednesday luncheon when he was honored as the NWA Touchdown Club's Player of the Week, Williams brought all five starters along for a free meal. Kindly gestures like that encourage 300-pound linemen Sam Stevens and Zach Newman to create more space for Williams to rumble through.
"It's pretty easy to brag on them because the stats show," Williams said. "I'm averaging well over 100 yards per game and I can't go anywhere without the people in front of me. With them blocking good and Trey handing me the ball, it's not hard to do anything."
Last season, Williams averaged 3.9 yards per carry and had one, 100-yard game. This season, he's averaging 7 yards per carry with three, 100-yard games. Patience has been a virtue for Williams, his OL mates say.
"Usually, he'll put his hand on your back to wait for holes to open up," Newman said. "He's not a running back that's going to cut real early and run right into a defensive end that's coming up. He definitely waits for the holes to open up."
Coach Adams said the improved patience as a senior is because of Williams' maturity. Last season, he was timid. Now, he has learned how to best utilize his speed and strength (he bench presses more than 300 pounds). Williams also plays defensive end and had 14 tackles this season. Adams said he's "a pass rushing specialist who is fast and makes a lot of plays by running people down from behind."
As a running back, Adams said Williams is working on ball security after two fumbles last week. While he used to miss cuts, and still does at times, Adams sees Williams' vision to hit the correct holes improving.
"He's a much more aggressive runner," Adams said. "He's a fast kid, but last year, he wasn't playing fast because he was always slowing down trying to make a cut, make a move. Now, he plants his foot and goes in the right direction and finishes runs.
"Last year, he was just trying to do too much. Now, he's just getting the ball in his hands and he's going."
Teammates say it's because of Williams' tenacity.
"Caleb is the meanest guy on our offense," Waggle said. "Once our offensive line establishes the line, he doesn't care who's in his way. He's going. He's lowering his shoulder and is going to get the first down for sure."
Off the field, Williams sports a 3.7 GPA and takes college courses at Northwest Arkansas Community College. He's has worked the past two years at Williams Motorsports in Fayetteville, but he's only owned a 390-horsepower CTM motorcycle for less than a year after his mother expressed reservations.
"It took me up until last January to convince (his mother)," Williams said. "I've been working on her for about a year, so I finally convinced her."
Williams' budding musical career began while working on a business club project with some friends who decided to create a rap sons that were released on Soundcloud. His rap name is "Scooba Steve."
"It just kind of started off as a joke," Williams said. "Now, all the sudden, everybody is listening to it and laughing to it and just having a good time."
Sports on 09/29/2017