Pooka Williams Jr.

Anthony “Pooka” Williams Jr. is an American football running back at the University of Kansas. He was named First Team All-Big 12 as a Freshman.

Williams attended high school at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana. As a senior he ran for 3,118 yards and 37 touchdowns. Hahnville lost in the Louisiana 5A State Championship his senior year. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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

Sophomore season

On July 8, 2019, Kansas announced that Williams was reinstated from his suspension for his arrest. He did, however, serve a 1 game suspension for the Jayhawks season opener against Indiana State. Prior to the season, Williams was named Preseason 1st team All-Big 12.

College statistics