UNLV’s Charles Williams thankful for showcase senior season

Charles Williams is one of those show-me college football players this season.

Senior running backs not considered a high NFL draft pick, or ones at all by some, need film for scouts to dissect. Tangible evidence they can successfully translate to the highest level. Proof they are good enough.

How fortunate then for Williams that UNLV has a schedule to play, despite COVID-19.

There is a slight chance the NCAA might not count senior seasons in 2020 due to the pandemic, but you figure this is it for Williams at UNLV. A running back’s draft stock hardly rises as he gets older.

He wasn’t sure the opportunity to even play would arrive as conferences across the country studied ways in which they might return safely. The Mountain West opens its league season Oct. 24.

“All you could do was hope and pray,” Williams said.

New everything

He has a new head coach in Marcus Arroyo. A new position coach. A new scheme. He’s also making lots of preseason lists. All-American. Doak Walker Award. All-league this and that and everything in between.

No one really knows the level at which UNLV will perform when things kick off against San Diego State. Far too many questions are still unanswered as Arroyo prepares his first Rebels team. It makes, then, the presence of a veteran tailback with 2,445 career yards and 15 touchdowns all the more valuable. You can lean on such a player. Trust him to lead.

A shining example for teammates? Williams has already earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies. He is pursuing a master’s in general studies. He was a member of the Dean’s List the previous four semesters and was named Academic All-Mountain West in both 2018 and ‘19.

Forget the football program’s woeful all-time record. Its lack of bowl games. Its struggle to reach any level of relevancy. UNLV has done a terrific job over the years producing talented running backs. Mike Thomas. Kirk Jones. Ickey Woods. Omar Love. Joe Haro. Dominique Dorsey. Tim Cornett. Lexington Thomas.

Williams is the latest. He’s the sort of player who, once the draft draws closer and eight regular-season game films are in the hands of teams, will be all over those boards ranking prospects.

Some have Williams as high as a fourth-round selection. Others have him in the seventh. Most have him going undrafted.

His resume won’t lack for resiliency. Williams started and rushed for 93 yards on just 12 carries against Howard in a 2017 opener before suffering a season-ending injury. A ligament in his right ankle snapped. It wasn’t pretty.

But the player who set the school’s freshman rushing record with 763 yards has long since recovered. He’s coming off a season in which he gained a net total of 1,257 yards. He’s also incredibly thankful for having a final go-around in college.

There for team

The question for those teams not already in action is how physical things must be daily — both to prepare players for contact while not risking injury following a pandemic pause.

It’s one thing for Williams to perform cone and ladder drills in the backyard — one way he stayed in shape the last several months — and quite another to hit a gap at full speed and take on a charging linebacker.

“Dad always told me to be the one delivering the hit rather than taking it,” Williams said. “I’m not out there to be a punching bag. I know some guys in the NFL have been hurt coming back. There will be bumps and bruises. Our bodies haven’t been through this for months. You get used to it. It’s football.”

When the idea of a fall season was still just some far-away concept few believed possible as coronavirus numbers soared, seniors across the country were left to contemplate their immediate future: That had things been moved to a spring schedule, would it have been smart to risk injury so close to perhaps earning an opportunity at a pro career.

It might have crossed Williams’ mind. For like a minute.

“I would have been there for my team,” he said.

Will be again. Has been for a while.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.