Pooka Williams Jr.
Career Honors
2018: Midseason True Freshman of the Year by The Athletic; ESPN Midseason Freshman All-American (Oct. 15); Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week (Oct. 1); ESPN True Freshman of the Week (Sept. 10); Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 10).
2018 (Fr.): at Central Michigan
Made his collegiate debut with a start at running back … Ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries … Also caught one pass for eight yards … Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for his efforts … Rutgers: Became the first freshman in KU history to open their career with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games after collecting 158 yards and one TD on 18 carries against the Scarlet Knights … Recorded a then-career-long 52-yard scoring run … Added one reception for five yards … at Baylor: Ran for 89 yards, including a career-long rush of 72 yards … Caught one pass for five yards … Oklahoma State: Rushed for 97 yards and a score on 17 carries … His touchdown run of 60 yards marked his longest scoring rush of his career … Recorded a career-high six reception for a career-best 60 yards … at West Virginia: Carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards … Caught three passes for 16 yards … at Texas Tech: Started at running back … Rushed for 81 yards and caught three balls for 26 yards … TCU: Scored two touchdowns off 102 yards receiving with seven receptions … Rushed for 33 yards … Iowa State: Ran the ball 17 times for 58 yards … Reeled in six receptions for 42 yards … at Kansas State: Ran the ball 14 times for 59 yards in his first Sunflower Showdown … at Oklahoma: Williams Jr. rushed for 252 yards which is a freshman record along with sixth all-time in Kansas football history … Scored two touchdowns along with 18 yards receiving with three receptions … Texas: Rushed for 113 yards on 10 attempts to complete a record setting freshman season.
High School
Touted as a four-star recruit and the 15th-best player in the state of Louisiana according to ESPN.com … Rated a three-star recruit, the 11th-best all-purpose back in the country and the 16th-rated player in the state of Louisiana by Rivals.com … Also a three-star player according to 247Sports.com … Played for head coach Dominic Saltaformaggio at Hahnville HS … Led HHS to the Louisiana Class 5A state title game, rushing for 210 yards and a touchdown, against Zachary HS … Registered 3,118 rushing yards with 37 touchdowns as a senior … Collected nearly 1,400 yards and 14 scores in Hahnville’s five-game playoff run … Selected as the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance/Louisiana Sports Writers Association Mr. Football for the 2017 season … Named New Orleans Metro Player of the Year by the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation Quarterback Club … Earned a spot on the New Orleans Times-Picayune 2017-18 All-Metro Top 25 Male Athletes of the Year list.
Personal
Son of Angelique and Anthony Williams Sr. … Full name is Anthony Williams Jr. … Plans to major in sport management … Chose Kansas over offers from LSU, Mississippi State, Memphis, Nebraska, TCU, UCLA, Tulane and Louisiana Tech.