Pooka Williams Jr.

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Pooka Williams Jr.
No. 12 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position:Wide receiver / return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1999-06-19) June 19, 1999 (age 22)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school:Hahnville
(Boutte, Louisiana)
College:Kansas
Undrafted:2021
Career history
Roster status:Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Kickoff returns:3
Average:17.3
Player stats at NFL.com

Anthony "Pooka" Williams Jr.[1] (born June 19, 1999) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Kansas. He was named First Team All-Big 12 running back as a freshman[2] and as a sophomore.[3] He signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2021.[4]

High school[]

Williams got the nickname "Pooka" from his grandmother as a child.[5] He attended high school at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana. As a senior he ran for 3,118 yards and 37 touchdowns.[1] Hahnville lost in the Louisiana 5A State Championship his senior year.[6] Williams was a four-star recruit out of high school, according to ESPN.com. He received offers from LSU, Memphis, Kansas, Mississippi State, and TCU. On February 12, 2017, he committed to Kansas.[7]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Pooka Williams Jr.
RB 		New Orleans, LA Hahnville 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Feb 7, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80

College career[]

Freshman season[]

Williams played his first game at Kansas in their second game of the season against Central Michigan. He ran for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns as he helped lead Kansas to their first road victory since 2009.[8] The following week, he rushed 161 yards and 1 touchdown. He would go on to rush for over 100 yards two more times during the season, including recording 252 rushing yards against Oklahoma.[1] Williams finished the season with 1,125 yards and 7 touchdowns. For his performance as a freshman, Williams was named 1st Team All-Big 12 and Offensive Freshman of the Year.[2]

Sophomore season[]

Following an offseason arrest, Williams was suspended for the majority off the season before being reinstated in July.[9] He did also serve a 1 game suspension for the Jayhawks season opener against Indiana State.[10] Prior to the season, Williams was named Preseason 1st team All-Big 12.[11] He made his season debut against Coastal Carolina rushing for 99 yards and zero touchdowns in the Jayhawks 7–12 loss. The following week against Boston College, he rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown helping the Jayhawks to their first Power Five conference road win in 48 games.[12] He would rush for over 100 yards three more times during the season, including a season high 190 yards in a 48–50 loss to Texas. Williams finished the season with 1,042 becoming only the second Jayhawk, along with James Sims, to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He also broke College Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers record for most rushing yards in a player’s first two seasons.[13] He was named 1st team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive season.[3]

Junior season[]

On July 16, 2020, Williams was named pre-season 1st team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive season.[14] He was also named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, which awards the nation's overall best player.[15] In the Jayhawks first game of the season, he rushed for 67 yards and no touchdowns in the 23–38 loss. The following week against Baylor, he rushed for two touchdowns in the 14–47 loss. On October 18, he was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in a loss to West Virginia. The following day he announced he would be opting out of the remainder of the season to be closer to his mother and family in Louisiana. He released a statement on Twitter saying: "Family and health are the most important things to me. Right now I need to be with my mother, who is battling health issues. I want to thank Coach Miles and everyone with the Kansas Football program for their commitment and understanding."[16] He declared for the 2021 NFL Draft on December 6, 2020.[17] He finished his college career with 2,363 rushing yards, good for 9th all-time in Kansas history, 5.7 yards per carry average, and 12 rushing touchdowns.

College statistics[]

Pooka Williams Jr. Rushing Receiving
Year Team GP Att Yards Avg TDs Rec Yards TDs
2018 Kansas 11 161 1,125 7.0 7 33 289 2
2019 Kansas 11 203 1,042 5.1 3 27 214 2
2020 Kansas 4 51 196 3.8 2 6 31 0
Total 26 425 2,363 5.7 12 66 534 4

[18]

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
5 ft 9+1⁄2 in
(1.77 m) 		175 lb
(79 kg) 		4.36 s 4.01 s 6.87 s 33 in
(0.84 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)
All values from Kansas pro day, as the NFL did not hold a combine due to the COVID-19 pandemic[19]

Williams entered the draft as the 20th ranked running back, according to Sports Illustrated. He was projected as a seventh round pick.[20]

After going undrafted, Williams signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on May 14, 2021, where he was reunited with his teammate from Kansas, Hakeem Adeniji.[4] He was released on August 31, 2021.[21] The following day, he was signed to the Bengals' practice squad.[22] He was elevated to the active roster via a standard elevation on December 4, 2021.[23] He made his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Chargers playing primarily as the team's kick returner for the game.

Personal life[]

On July 19, 2021, Williams announced on his Twitter that he was expecting his first child, a girl.[24]

Legal trouble[]

Following the end of his freshman season at Kansas, Williams was arrested for domestic battery on December 7, 2018. Following the arrest, Kansas head coach Les Miles announced that he will be suspended from team activities during the investigation.[9] On January 9, 2019, he was granted a diversion for his arrest.[25]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Pooka Williams Player Profile". KUAthletics.com.
  2. ^ a b "2018 Big 12 Football Awards" (PDF). Big12Sports.com.
  3. ^ a b "2019 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big 12 Conference. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Cincinnati Bengals add running back Pooka Williams as free agent, source says, after controversial stay with Kansas Jayhawks". ESPN.com.
  5. ^ "Here's how KU freshman Anthony Williams got the nickname 'Pooka'". 247Sports.com.
  6. ^ "Champs again! Keilon Brown leads Zachary to 2nd title in three years with win over Hahnville". TheAdvocate.com.
  7. ^ "Quintet of Louisiana commits supercharge Kansas' 2018 recruiting class". Rivals.com.
  8. ^ "Kansas snaps 46-game road skid with 31-7 win at C. Michigan". CBSSports.com.
  9. ^ a b "Kansas suspends RB Pooka Williams after assault arrest". USAToday.com.
  10. ^ "Kansas reinstates Pooka Williams, to miss opener". ESPN.com.
  11. ^ "Preseason All-Big 12 team" (PDF). Big12Sports.com.
  12. ^ "Jayhawks break 48-game road skid vs. Power 5". ESPN.com.
  13. ^ "Pooka Williams Jr., Breaks 1,000 Yards in Back-to-Back Seasons". KUAthletics.com.
  14. ^ "Pooka Williams Jr. and Andrew Parchment Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team". KUAthletics.com.
  15. ^ "90 Players Named to 2020 Maxwell Award Watch List". Fanbuzz.com.
  16. ^ "Kansas RB Pooka Williams opts out of rest of 2020 season, citing 'family and health reasons'". ESPN.com.
  17. ^ "KU's Pooka Williams Jr. declares for NFL Draft". WIBW.com.
  18. ^ "Pooka Williams stats". Sports-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Kansas Pro Day: Pooka Williams shines to kick off pro day schedule". ProFootballNetwork.com.
  20. ^ "2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Running Backs". SI.com.
  21. ^ "Bengals Reduce 2021 Roster To 53 Players". Bengals.com.
  22. ^ "Bengals Make Player Moves, Sign 15 To The Practice Squad". Bengals.com.
  23. ^ "Bengals put Auden Tate on IR, sign Trayveon Williams to active roster". NBCSports.com.
  24. ^ Pooka Williams Jr. [@pookawilliamsjr] (July 19, 2021). "Girl dad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "KU running back Pooka Williams granted diversion for domestic battery charge". KansasCity.com.

External links[]

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