Levi Williams (American football)

Levi Williams is an American former college football quarterback. Williams attended Smithson Valley High School, after which he started his collegiate career with the Wyoming Cowboys before transferring to play for the Utah State Aggies.

Levi Williams
No. 16
PositionQuarterback
Personal information
Born:Canyon Lake, Texas, U.S.
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolSmithson Valley
(Comal County, Texas)

High school career

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Williams attended Smithson Valley High School in Comal County, Texas. In his senior season, Williams threw for 32 touchdowns with 3,239 yards and had 1,230 rushing yards with 16 rushing touchdowns.[1] Williams was a consensus 3-star recruit and according to 247Sports.com he was the 40th best pro style quarterback in the class of 2019.[2] Williams was originally committed to Houston[3] but he decided to play college football at the University of Wyoming over Baylor, Oklahoma State, and TCU.

College career

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Wyoming

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Williams played sparingly in his freshman season. He would make his first career start in the Arizona Bowl where he would throw for three touchdowns and he would also have a rushing touchdown in a 38–17 win against Georgia State.[4] In the next season, Williams played in all six games in a shortened season rushing for 6 touchdowns while only having one passing touchdown with three interceptions. Williams would play in eight games the following season. After a three-game losing streak Williams was named the starting quarterback against San Jose State.[5] Wyoming lost 21–27 behind two touchdowns and two interceptions from Williams.[6] He finished the season with 8 passing touchdowns with 5 interceptions and one rushing touchdown. In the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Kent State, Williams threw for one touchdown with 127 yards, and he rushed for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 52–38 win.[7] After his performance, Williams was named the game's MVP.[8] On December 22, 2021, just one day after the game, Williams announced his decision to transfer.[9]

Utah State

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On December 30, 2021, Williams announced his decision to transfer to Utah State.[10] After playing as a backup for two seasons, Williams was named the starter against New Mexico in the final regular season game of the 2023 season.[11] In his first start with Utah State, he combined for five total touchdowns, two passing and three rushing, including the game-winning 13-yard touchdown run in overtime, leading Utah State to a 44–41 double-overtime victory.[12][13] As a result of his performance, Williams was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week.[14] On November 28, 2023, Williams announced that he would be forgoing his final year of college eligibility to pursue his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL.[15][16] A few weeks later, he was named the starting quarterback for the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, his final collegiate game.[17][18]

Statistics

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Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
Wyoming Cowboys
2019 3 1 1−0 19 39 48.7 343 8.8 3 2 137.7 40 181 4.5 2
2020 6 5 2−3 59 119 49.6 877 7.4 1 3 109.2 56 100 1.8 6
2021 9 6 3−3 72 120 60.0 990 8.3 9 5 145.7 72 482 6.7 5
Utah State Aggies
2022 6 0 5 17 29.4 28 1.6 0 1 31.5 10 51 5.1 0
2023 10 2 1−1 35 61 57.4 365 7.0 5 2 136.4 45 209 4.6 3
Career[19] 34 14 7−7 190 356 53.4 2,663 7.5 18 13 125.6 223 1,023 4.6 16

References

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  1. ^ "Wyoming Cowboys add Texas high school QB Levi Williams". MTSPX. January 29, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Levi Williams, Wyoming Cowboys, Quarterback". 247Sports. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  3. ^ davis.potter@trib.com, Davis Potter (February 7, 2019). "How exactly did Wyoming land former Houston QB signee Levi Williams?". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Lev, Michael (January 2020). "Arizona Bowl: Wyoming's 1-2 punch overwhelms Georgia State in 38-17 Cowboys triumph". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Wyoming to Start QB Levi Williams vs. SJSU". Mountain West Wire. October 26, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  6. ^ ryan.thorburn@trib.com, Ryan Thorburn (October 30, 2021). "Wyoming Cowboys continue slide with 27-21 loss to San Jose State Spartans". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  7. ^ ryan.thorburn@trib.com, Ryan Thorburn. "Levi Williams leads Wyoming to Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory over Kent State". Homenewshere.com. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Levi Williams named Potato Bowl MVP". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Graf, David (December 25, 2021). "Six University of Wyoming Cowboys enter the transfer portal after bowl victory". www.wyomingnewsnow.tv. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Utah State adds transfer QB from another Mountain West school". December 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Utah State has a new starting quarterback for its regular season finale". Deseret News. November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Harrison, Shawn (November 24, 2023). "USU football: Aggies become bowl eligible, Williams part of 5 TDs". The Herald Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Williams scores game-winner off broken play in 2OT; Utah State beats New Mexico to clinch bowl berth". AP News. November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Turner, Jason (November 27, 2023). "USU football: Several awards for Levi Williams". The Herald Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  15. ^ DeMeyer, Tess. "Utah State QB leaving school early to pursue Navy SEAL dream". The Athletic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  16. ^ "Utah State Quarterback Levi Williams To Give Up Eligibility For SEAL Training".
  17. ^ "Levi Williams, Utah State back to Boise, geared up for Georgia State". Omaha World-Herald. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  18. ^ "Can Utah State's Levi Williams conjure up more bowl game magic?". Deseret News. December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  19. ^ "Levi Williams College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
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