Carr’s Prospect Corner
Javonte Williams (RB-North Carolina)
Age: 20 (April 25, 2000)
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 220 lbs
BMI: 31.6
BOA: 19.4
24/7 Sports Composite: 0.8344 (3-Star)
Injury History: Has not missed any games due to injury
Awards/Records:
UNC Offensive MVP (2020)
2nd Team All ACC (2020)
AP 2nd Team All-American (2020)
Doak Walker Award Semi-Finalist (2020)
Maxwell Award Semi-Finalist (2020)
Numbers taken from PFF College Premium Stats and % are calculated by me
High School:
Javonte Williams was at a point in his life before his senior year of high school where he was contemplating quitting the game of football. Williams played linebacker up until his junior season and he wasn’t pleased that he wasn’t getting any offers. He felt like he wasn’t ever going to get to the point of playing for a big program, but then things started to look up for Williams when he switched positions to running back in his senior year. Williams ran for a whopping 2,271 yards and 27 touchdowns in his lone year playing running back at Wallace High in North Carolina. Williams finished as the 94th best running back in the nation and the 46th best back in the state of North Carolina. Williams received interest from one program and that was his home state school in the University of North Carolina. He was given a scholarship by then UNC head coach Larry Fedora to come play for their program.
Freshman:
Williams didn’t make much of an impact as a true freshman for the Tar Heels but towards the end of the season is where he started to flash his potential. Williams, in the Tar Heels final two games of the season which were against Western Carolina and NC State had a total of 176 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on 33 touches. Williams finished 4th on the team in rushing yards (224) playing behind 3 upperclassmen.
Sophomore:
Williams in his sophomore season is really where he began to come into his own as a player. He was ranked 5th amongst all FBS running backs in offensive grade according to PFF. Williams had split carries with junior Michael Carter this season and both were able to be very productive. Carter led the team in rushing yards with 1,003 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs. Williams was not far behind with 933 rushing yards while adding a couple more touchdowns on the ground than Carter (5).
Junior:
The duo of Carter and Williams were able to take it to another level this past season. Carter decided to forego the NFL draft to come back to school and both he and Carter tore up the ACC. Carter once again led the team in rushing yards with 1,245 yards, however Williams still ran for 1,140 rushing yards while adding a whopping 19 rushing touchdowns compared to Carter’s 9 on the ground. Williams was named as UNC’s offensive MVP in this season over Carter, over QB Sam Howell, and WR Dyami Brown. Williams was named as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award (best all-around player) and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker award (best RB in the nation). Along with those nods, Williams was named to the ACC’s All 2nd Team and as an AP 2nd team All American. Williams also had PFF’s highest graded rushing season of all time with a 95.9 grade.
Career:
Williams finishes with the 14th most rushing yards in school history (2,329) and ties for 7th all time in rushing touchdowns (29).
Analytics:
Williams profiles to be an every down back in the NFL. He’s got great size being 5’10 and 220 pounds. He was able to breakout as a sophomore. He’s got great burst from what I see on film so I think he’s going to run a good 40 time for his size which should see him have a high speed score. It also helps that he was part of a state winning 4x100 relay team in high school so we know he is fast. Williams is a tackle breaking machine. Williams led the NCAA in missed tackles this past season with 76 despite only carrying the ball 157 times. That would mean Williams more than likely was breaking a tackle whenever he ran the ball, more than half of the time he would be breaking a tackle. Williams’ highest target share % is about average but he has shown he is able to catch passes out of the backfield so he can be relied upon to do that in the NFL as well.
Film:
Williams is a really fun player to watch on film because there’s just not a lot that he does poorly. He’s got good vision, he’s a great athlete, and he’s just so hard to bring down on first contact.
Video taken from ESPN/ACC Network
This is by far my favorite play he had all season. He's a ping pong ball whenever he’s got the ball in his hands. He’s such a physical runner and I think that toughness just comes from his linebacker background from high school, he is not afraid to lower his shoulder and fight for extra yards no matter what.
Video taken from ESPN/ACC Network
Video taken from ESPN/ACC Network
Video taken from ESPN/ACC Network
VERDICT:
Javonte Williams I believe has a chance to end up being the best running back in the class. I don’t think there’s a single glaring weakness in his game and he has the analytics to back it up. It was clear to me when watching North Carolina games to me that he was better than Michael Carter was. I am willing to bet on a player who has improved every season, has elite tackle breaking ability, and possesses a nice combination of size and speed. Williams will be a day 2 pick and should be able to go to a running back needy team and if asked to be a workhorse, that he would be able to handle that responsibility.