Rawleigh Williams III was forced to retire from football after two seasons with the University of Arkansas because of two neurological injuries.
While he has since moved on, Williams wonders what might have been if had gotten to finish playing collegiately with the Razorbacks.
"I still think about the what-ifs," Williams said.
Williams announced his retirement from football May 8, 2017, in a release on the Razorbacks' website.
Williams, who injured his neck against Auburn on Oct. 24, 2015, returned to the Razorbacks in 2016. His head was twisted around on a face-mask penalty by Auburn's Kris Frost. Two hours after the incident, Williams had surgery.
As a sophomore in 2016, Williams rushed for an SEC-high 1,326 yards with 12 touchdowns on 245 carries, earning first-team All-SEC honors.
During the Razorbacks' Red-White practice April 29, 2017,in Fayetteville, Williams had a second neurological event.
Williams said he had no regrets about returning to football after his first injury.
"I played football since I was 4 years old," Williams said. "I took enough hits in my day."
Arkansas went 4-8 in 2017, which led to the firing of Bret Bielema as head coach after five seasons.
"Last season was tough because of the number of people that went down," Williams said. "We really thought we could have done some good things. It's just unfortunate."
While at Arkansas, Williams averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He had seven 100-yard games in 2016, including a 205-yard, 4-touchdown performance at Mississippi State.
"That was a good game," said Williams after watching highlights of the Mississippi State game.
Williams graduated in three years with a bachelor's degree in finance. He's currently working on his master's degree in operations management.
"I've always loved sports and financing," Williams said. "I'd like to be a sports agent."
Little Rock Touchdown Club President David Bazzel mentioned to Williams that Judy Henry of Little Rock law firm Wright, Lindsey and Jennings is a sports agent and attempted to have the two meet each other.
"Rawleigh, Judy Henry," Bazzel joked. "Judy, Rawleigh."
Since the 2017 injury, Williams admitted that he's handled his post-football career better than he did early on. He said it's a blessing for him that he's able to live his life.
"Mom is just glad I can walk," Williams said. "I can live my life. That's important to her and that's important to me."
When asked about his thoughts on first-year Arkansas Coach Chad Morris recruiting Texas more, Williams was all for it and praised fellow Texan Mike Woods, a freshman wide receiver for the Razorbacks who has been one of the team's standouts during fall camp.
"The more kids you get from Texas, the better," Williams said. "There's a lot of talent in the state. This new staff, they're already recruiting in Texas, which has paid off already."
Other highlights from Monday's Touchdown Club luncheon:
• Rex Nelson on what Razorbacks fans should do before heading to Reynolds Razorback Stadium to watch the team's season opener against Eastern Illinois on Saturday: "Try drinking water. I've got an over/under on how many people will be treated for dehydration."
• Bazzel paid tribute to longtime Touchdown Club member Calvin Hagan, who died in April. He was 91. Bazzel said Hagan's daughter Shelley Newkirk told him that Calvin Hagan asked for a 50-yard-line membership each Christmas. Hagan helped found the Arkansas Baptist School System (now Baptist Prep) in 1981 in Little Rock.
• Williams on growing up in Texas: "Don't hate me, but I grew up a Texas fan. I watched that national championship game [the Rose Bowl against Southern California in January 2006] and it was one of my highlights as a kid."
Sports on 08/28/2018