Gavin Williams Prefers Power Football

Gavin Williams knows his style is not something every running back likes.

The Iowa running back likes the power style. Running between the tackles is his preferred route.

“Not a lot of people like it,” Williams said on Tuesday. “Which, it’s an acquired taste, for sure. It’s … I don’t know … it’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve been playing football. And I kind of feel like my personal style complements inside running well. That’s kind of the way I like it.

“I’ve been running between the tackles since I’ve been playing football, so that’s where I feel comfortable.”

Williams is No. 1 on the depth chart at running back as the Hawkeyes head into their first full week of spring practice. He and Leshon Williams will get the bulk of the carries this season as the replacements for Tyler Goodson, who has entered the NFL draft after leading the Hawkeyes with 1,151 rushing yards last season.

Goodson was a versatile running back who led the Hawkeyes with 1,403 rushing yards.

He was a good teacher for Gavin Williams, who rushed for 305 yards in his first full season last year.

“I learned a lot, especially from Tyler, watching what he went through every week, getting ready for the games,” Williams said. “The attention to detail he took to every individual aspect to our game plan, it taught me what I needed to do going into game weeks, how I needed to prepare and take that next step.”

Williams got the start in Iowa’s Citrus Bowl loss to Kentucky after Goodson declared for the draft, and rushed 16 times for 98 yards. That game, Williams said, has given him momentum heading into the spring.

“I probably surprised a couple of people, just from the amount of yards I got,” Williams said. “I don’t think people were expecting that. I also feel like there was a lot I left out there. That game gave me a lot of perspective, and just the things I need to work on and get better at.”

Iowa got 140 yards from both Gavin and Leshon Williams in the bowl game, but coach Kirk Ferentz knows there are still questions at the position.

“I think we've got two guys capable of playing,” Ferentz said last week. “They gave us a sneak preview, if you will, in the bowl game. But can you do it over 12 weeks now?”

Gavin Williams thinks he can. He’s been working toward this since redshirting in the 2020 season, when he played in one game as a true freshman after enrolling for the spring semester.

“It feels like I just got on campus last week,” he said. “It’s gone so fast. It’s been amazing. And I’m truly grateful for the opportunity.

“The game was definitely something I had to get used to. Everyone’s faster, everyone’s stronger, and you have to be more detailed on your fundamentals. Going into each play, each rep, with anticipation, rather than reaction. You have to anticipate what’s going to happen, rather than watching it happen and then making something happen. You wait and react, and it could not be there anymore.”

That’s why he likes just pounding the ball through the middle of the defense. It’s something he’s been doing since high school, when he rushed for more than 4,100 yards in four seasons of varsity football at Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Dowling.

He’s in his biggest role as a Hawkeye, and he feels like it fits.

“It kind of reminds me of high school a little bit — just going out there and having fun and playing,” Williams said.