The Morehead-Cain scholarship isn’t a bad backup option, so it’s tough to blame Javonte Williams for thinking a year ago that pursuing the academic full ride would be his route to Chapel Hill.
When he stepped off the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium after leading his Wallace-Rose High School team to the 2017 2A State Championship in overtime, Williams thought the two-touchdown performance was a fine ending to his football career. His school had nominated him for the prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship, offering him the chance to attend UNC at no cost.
“Last year at this time I was just thinking about going to school to be a regular student,” Williams said. “I was telling my mom, ‘I think I'm just gonna give football up.’”
Less than a year later, he was back on the same field. Now, he wears a North Carolina uniform, and this time he scored three touchdowns in UNC's 49-26 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday.
In the second to last game of UNC’s season, Williams got his first extended looks at running back after spending much of the season starting on special teams. He capitalized on the opportunity, scoring three touchdowns and amassing 93 yards on the day.
“Here’s a kid that loves everything about Carolina, and that’s why he wanted to come to Carolina,” head coach Larry Fedora said. “He just shows you that he’s pretty mature. He’s prepared himself really well. He’s been preparing himself like that since game one, to be out there, to be the guy. It just hasn’t happened until tonight.”
On Saturday night, he was certainly "the guy." This was what Fedora must have envisioned when he saw Williams bulldoze his way to 207 yards a year ago. Williams was a fairly unheralded recruit, and was off the radar for most Division 1 schools. Fedora offered Williams a scholarship after that game. The 4.0 student took an official visit the next day, and before he returned home from the title game, he was committed to the Tar Heels. Just over a month after his two-touchdown performance, he was enrolled and taking classes in Chapel Hill.
Last week, Williams scored his first collegiate touchdown in a loss to Duke. This week he was the star player in a victory for the Tar Heels.
Williams got his first end zone trip of the day on a 1-yard rush, his first carry of the game, to put the Tar Heels on top for the first time. When UNC allowed Western Carolina to climb back within two scores, Williams put the game away with a pair of 2-yard rushes for touchdowns in the third quarter.
