GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
When Josh Williams signed with LSU in 2019 out of The Kinkaid School in Houston, the NCAA Transfer Portal was still more than two years away. It’s five years later, and the portal never made it to Williams.
A sixth-year senior, Williams will play his 60th and final game as an LSU running back on the last day of 2024 when the Tigers (8-4) play Baylor (8-4) in the Texas Bowl in his hometown Houston on Tuesday (2:45 p.m., ESPN).
Say that slowly … “Sixth-year senior.”
Williams may be one of the last ones of that ilk with the portal frequently having players try three schools in four years in a new definition of a gap year. Some never fill in the gap or play much.
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While Williams never became a regular starter at LSU, but he was part of the national championship in 2019 and has gained 1,452 yards in his career on 305 carries with 16 touchdowns. And he gets to end it back where it started in Houston.
“It means a lot,” Williams said last week. “So many years, so many games, so many practices and lifts and what nots all coming to an end. So it’s a bittersweet situation, but I’m just thankful that I get to play this last game in Houston, which is my hometown. It just makes it all full circle, so I’m grateful.”
Williams’ best season was 2022 when the two-star prospect started six times in 11 games and put up career highs with 532 yards, 97 carries and six touchdowns as the Tigers returned to winning with a 10-4 season in coach Brian Kelly’s first season.
In a 32-31 win over No. 6 Alabama in overtime that season, Williams rushed seven times for 54 yards and caught three passes for seven yards. His 2-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 14-9 lead at the half.
That was the second of a thrilling eight lead changes, culminating with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels’ two-point conversion pass to tight end Mason Taylor for the win in the first overtime when Kelly did not have to go for two.
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“I would say the game we won against Bama in OT was definitely the most memorable game I’ve had,” he said. “I was involved in the game. It was a high-pressure situation going back and forth and winning it in overtime. Rushing the field – it was just a dream, a fever dream, and it was a great way to win the game.”
Williams carried only 23 times for 108 yards in his sophomore season in 13 games in 2021 when the Tigers finished 6-7, and coach Ed Orgeron was let go. As a redshirt freshman in 2020, he gained a career-low 88 yards on 22 carries in 10 games as the Tigers were 5-5 – their worst season since 1999.
As a member of the scout team in 2019 when LSU won the national title at 13-0, Williams did not play.
This season, Williams proved valuable with the loss of fellow sixth-year senior running back John Emery Jr. to a knee injury in practice after the season opener against USC. Williams has gained 440 yards on 108 carries in 12 games and six starts with five touchdowns.
One of Williams’ most valuable moments this season, though, occurred off the field. He was instrumental in calling a players-only meeting after the Tigers lost three straight before finishing with wins in their final two games. Williams experienced three losses in four games late in the 2020 season and three in a row toward the end of the 2021 season.
“He could speak to it from a position of, ‘I’ve been down this road before,'” Kelly said. “He could do it from a position of experience. And he was able to lend that to everyone else in the program. It really affected some of the younger players in a positive way.”
LSU will follow Josh Williams one more time Tuesday night after his best Christmas since his high school days.
“It is rare that I actually get to be in Houston for Christmas with all my family and staying home for the bowl game,” he said. “It’s all been just a win-win situation for me, and I’m just grateful for it.”
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