RB Dom Williams leaving KU football, entering transfer portal

By Benton Smith Feb 3, 2020

Nick Krug

Blue team running back Dom Williams tries to break free of a tackle during Late Night Under the Lights on Saturday, April, 13, 2019 at Memorial Stadium.

After three seasons in the Kansas football program, running back Dom Williams announced Monday he plans to finish his college career elsewhere.

The 5-foot-10 rusher from McKinney, Texas, took to Twitter to let people know he’s entering his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal.

“I would like to thank all the coaches who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to live out my dreams,” Williams wrote in a note he posted to Twitter. “I believe everything happens for a reason and I’m ready to start the next chapter of my journey.”

Williams only played in four games for KU in 2019, making it a redshirt season for him. He will have two more seasons of eligibility remaining.

A source familiar with Williams’ thinking told the Journal-World that Williams plans to play for an FCS program in 2020. Then if he wants to, he could potentially transfer to an FBS program as a graduate transfer before the 2021 season. At this juncture, Williams is on schedule to complete his bachelor’s degree by the end of the fall 2020 semester.

Currently, the source said, Williams doesn’t have a particular transfer destination in mind. He will remain at KU through the conclusion of the current semester before transferring.

Williams entered what proved to be his final season with the Jayhawks as one of three running backs expected to be involved with the rushing attack under new head coach Les Miles.

However, Williams played sparingly during KU’s nonconference schedule and ultimately decided to use 2019 as a redshirt season. He ran 17 times for 41 yards during the Jayhawks’ first three games of the season, then appeared in the season finale versus Baylor, running three times for 28 yards. He finished his redshirt season with 63 rushing yards on 20 carries.

A four-star running back in KU’s 2017 recruiting class, Williams signed with the Jayhawks, despite holding offers from Baylor, Boise State, Arizona State, Purdue and other programs. Initially, he was recruited by then-KU running backs coach Reggie Mitchell, committing to Kansas as a high school junior in 2015.

By the time he was a true freshman in college, Williams played in eight games in 2017, rushing for 176 yards on 51 carries and scoring three touchdowns as the No. 3 running back on KU’s roster, behind Khalil Herbert and Taylor Martin.

During Williams’ sophomore season, he remained third on the depth chart, this time behind Pooka Williams Jr. and Herbert. In 2018, Dom Williams played in 11 games, rushing 55 times for 231 yards.

For the 2020 season, the Jayhawks should have Pooka Williams Jr. (203 carries in 2019, for 1,061 rushing yards) and Velton Gardner (26 carries, 138 yards) as their featured rushers.