BATON ROUGE – Every once in a while, something happens that makes me love college football again, if only for a moment.
Something that prevents me from tracking down every idiot with no journalistic ethics and poor grammar who publishes websites devoted to spreading misinformation and rumors that are lapped up by flocks of fan base sheep who become more ignorant by the minute.
Something that makes me forget how big-time college football has turned into a lawless cash grab in which a 17-year-old quarterback rated the No. 1 high school player in the nation can be handed $10.5 million to sign with a college based strictly on potential.
Something that lessens my fatigue of feeling there’s almost no room left for genuine coaches or athletes, whose words and presentation are polished, calculated and monitored by athletic department personnel.
So, when you cross paths with a real dude like LSU running back Josh Williams, who’s now two games away from ending a six-year college career that started with him as a scout team walk-on for the Tigers’ 2019 national title, you want to see him succeed.
It’s not because he’s rarely been the biggest or the fastest person in LSU’s running back room, which has had 22 RBs and three running backs coaches under four offensive coordinators hired by two head coaches during Williams’ tenure.
It’s not because he’s banking a load of NIL money. He’s grateful to have a scholarship.
It’s because he has done everything consistently correct daily to succeed in football and life. Work hard, don’t complain, encourage your teammates, and compete like hell every minute of every game and practice.
As Williams said in a team meeting this past week trying to shake the Tigers from their three-game losing streak, “Hey, this stuff goes by fast. .been in college for six years, probably played three or four years, and it felt like it was just yesterday.”
On Saturday night in Tiger Stadium in the 58th game of the Houston native’s LSU journey, he delivered the best performance of his career and also the most well-timed in the Tigers’ 24-17 victory over Vanderbilt.
Kelly and crew, needing inspiration to shake the doldrums of the 6-4 season that has been a burning wagon repeatedly sailing off a cliff for almost a month, got it from Williams.
It wasn’t just the totality of his 151 yards – a season-high 90 rushing yards on 14 attempts and 61 receiving yards on four catches – but rather the timing.
It had been a Godawful week for the LSU program.
Kelly was again criticized by any talking media head or any podcast nitwit after being caught by TV cameras in last Saturday’s loss at Florida dog-cussing Tigers’ wide receiver Chris Hilton. Hilton, who has spent almost the entire season injured, apparently didn’t appreciate Kelly telling him he was trying too hard to make a play.
LSU’s training staff was lambasted for its old school “how many fingers am I holding up?’ sideline concussion test of Tigers’ QB Garrett Nussmeier after one of the seven times he was sacked by the Gators.
Then on Thursday after Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan had recruited and coddled No. 1 high school QB phenom Bryce Underwood, Underwood for three years, Underwood flipped his commitment to Michigan when the school promised to pay him $10.5 million.
And then Saturday after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia arched a perfect 63-yard TD pass to Quincy Skinner Jr. on the Commodores’ first offensive snap of the game for a 7-0 lead vs. LSU, Kelly and the Tigers desperately needed something good to happen.
They got it from Williams, who plowed through Vandy tackles on the next two of three series for TD runs of 20 and 21 yards to put LSU ahead for good 14-7 at halftime.
“For me personally and mentally going into the game,” Williams said, “I wanted to run hard. I wanted to play fast, free and physical, and just trust my preparation.”
Kelly was looking for someone to play with purposeful, inspirational passion. He found it in Williams.
“He ran through the face of a number of defenders,” Kelly said of Williams. “It was his physicality, his want-to, his desire. He was committed to the first tackler not getting him down. He set a tone for our entire team. He really was committed to making sure that we found a way to win this game.”
After last Saturday’s debacle in Gainesville – some hard-nosed Gators’ magic that also beat No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday and erased their playoff hopes – LSU team leaders Williams, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, linebacker Greg Penn III and offensive lineman Will Campbell called a “players only” meeting this past week.
“The message of that meeting,” LSU defensive end Bradyn Swinson said, “was we’re done babying. We’re grown men here. We’re not going to keep doing the same old stuff. The coaches left in in our hands like `If y’all want to be better than what y’all have been, then show me.’”
And the Tigers did, particularly Williams, and everybody followed, like Nussmeier who threw for 332 yards and 1 TD to receiver Kyren Lacy who had 6 catches for 85 yards as well as linebacker Whit Weeks, who had a team-high 7 tackles and 2 of Tigers’ 8 QB pressures on the talented Pavia.
“When you see an offensive player like Josh playing with that much physicality and setting the standard for the whole game,” Weeks said, “it lights you up.”
Williams’ reward for such a performance was being awarded the game ball by Kelly in the locker room afterward. LSU’s team compensation was improving to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC with a regular-season closer next Saturday in Tiger Stadium against Oklahoma.
The Sooners broke free from their struggles at home on Saturday with a 24-3 dominating home victory over No. 7 Alabama. The Crimson Tide failed to score a TD in a game for the first time since 2011.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com