Why UNC RB Javonte Williams is learning the passing game. ‘I didn’t really know much.’
Used to be, North Carolina’s Javonte Williams was satisfied just running between the tackles. He didn’t expect much more, really, and it satisfied his aim to run over defenders. That was a win-win scenario for the 5-10 junior from Wallace.
Lately though, his game has been expanding. Williams still does plenty of running inside and over opponents. But now he’s becoming more included in the passing game. Those defenders left by the wayside are now left grasping for Williams in space.
Heading into Saturday’s showdown with N.C. State, Williams is third on the Tar Heels with 50.0 receiving yards per game. His 200 receiving yards has already surpassed last season’s total and is just 34 yards short of equaling his total from his first two years combined.
Williams already has nine catches through four games — he had 17 all of last season — to which he credits UNC running backs coach Robert Gillespie for helping him develop that part of his game.
“Coach G, he taught me a lot coming out of high school,” Williams said on a video call with reporters. “I didn’t really know much about (the passing game.)“
Williams currently has rushed for 402 yards, which is second on the team behind Michael Carter’s 478. His 100.5 yards per game ranks fifth in the ACC. When you run like Williams can, there was really no reason to do anything else.
Former UNC coach Larry Fedora saw Williams pop a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 2018 state title game. Fedora hadn’t put much time into recruiting Williams, but approached him after the game and asked if he wanted to take his official visit right then.
“That was the first time I ever talked to coach Fedora,” Williams said.
Williams had 13 catches as a senior at Wallace-Rose Hill High School and took five for touchdowns. But the “routes” he ran felt more like plays drawn in the dirt by comparison to what he had to learn at Carolina.
How far has Javonte Williams come?
A snapshot of just how far he’s come in the passing game happened in the Heels’ win at Boston College on Oct. 3. Williams was supposed to stay in and block when a breakdown in protection sent quarterback Sam Howell scrambling. Rather than continue to try and block, which as a freshman he may have, Williams slipped into an opening to provide an outlet. Howell delivered and, 41-yards later, Williams scored a touchdown.
That was more happenstance. Against Florida State on Oct. 17, Williams scored on a 38-yard touchdown catch that was based on recognition. Williams ran a crossing route, but instead of continuing to run parallel to the end zone, he turned the pattern up the field when he noticed he had a step on his defender and the FSU safety bit towards the line of scrimmage. Howell lofted the ball to Williams, who went into the end zone untouched.
That may be a sight Tar Heel fans continue to see this season as defenses game plan to stop Carolina’s wide receivers, especially when it comes to deep passes.
“The tight end and the throw game to the RB’s, you’ll continue to see that if defenses choose to take the receivers out of the deep ball game,” offensive coordinator Phil Longo told reporters on a video conference.
Williams’ development in catching out of the backfield is why both he and Carter, who has started every game, tend to dominate playing time. There’s been no room to work in a third back or for niche players who specialize in one area.
“They both are extremely versatile and they’re able to do everything that we asked him to do,” Longo said. “And so really the rotation, it’s not even this year about who’s hot and who’s not because they both have been so productive.”
No. 23 NC State at No. 14 UNC
When: Noon, Saturday
Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill
Watch: ESPN