SEATTLE -- Once a prized four-star recruit out of Narbonne High School, Utah starting quarterback Troy Williams has set out to make a statement against No.4 Washington, the school he signed with out of high school in 2013.
Williams signed to former head coach Steve Sarkisian and enrolled early. He exited the program at the same time Chris Petersen's prized quarterback Jake Browning was enrolling in January 2015.
For the first time since his transfer, a decision that at the time didn't sound like much of a choice, Williams will face Petersen and the nations No.13 defense.
"It just wasn’t working out,” Williams said at the time of his transfer. “I was hoping it would be a good opportunity for me, especially with Coach Pete coming in. It just didn’t work out. I was never afraid of the competition. That was one of the reasons I went to UW. I wanted to show that competition doesn’t scare me and show everyone what I can do. It was fun while it lasted.”
Williams' tone Monday sounded of a player wanting to prove to his former coach that he has something special to bring to the table.
"I don't want to make it too much of a big deal, but it's obvious I was frustrated about the whole situation I was going through up there," Williams said, reflecting on his time at UW. "I'm not a selfish guy. I'm a team guy, team first. But it's real hard going through something like that. Especially when everyone else around you sees the same thing you're seeing.
"The big question is why does this happen? Nobody knows. It's kind of behind the scenes but it's most definitely extra cake, extra fire [to face UW]."
The answer to why is still one Petersen cannot answer, and one that leads to even more questions without answers.
"Yeah, I didn’t really know. I didn’t know about that," Petersen said, when asked if he envisioned playing against Williams once he transferred. "I think when he first got here, those are chaotic times on everybody. We’re trying to figure out our identity on offense, and we had Cyler and Jeff and all those type of things."
Petersen added, "I thought Troy was a good player when he was here, and I knew he’d go somewhere and be a really good player. I think that’s proven true.”
Now a junior for Utah coach Kyle Wittingham, Williams ranks 54th in yards per game (215.6) and 90th in completion percentage (55.9). As a collective the Utah offense still has room for improvement averaging just 5.72 yards per play, compared to 7.47, good for fourth best in the country.
Utah ranks in the the middle of the pack when it comes to passing attempts, using the air game to set up what Wittingham is hoping will be a continued improvement in the run game.
Senior Joe Williams bulldozed the UCLA defense at home this past weekend, rushing for 332 yards and four touchdowns on just 29 carries. Williams entered Saturday with just 254 total yards this season having missed four games.
Utah has struggled to gets it's run game going in the first quarter with just 320 yards on 80 attempts. But the Utes flourish in the second and fourth quarter on the ground with 997 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
"He’s a fast guy," Petersen said of Williams. "He obviously knows their stuff inside and out. It’s kind of one of the weird things that can happen in a career or a season, the twists and turns that a season takes. Good for him to be able to finally get in there and really show how he can play. He’s a heck of a player.”
Washington
