Recruiting ROI, No. 13: Damien Williams

Junior college transfer raced into Sooner history books with 95-yard TD in 2012 Red River Showdown

Every Tuesday and Thursday, SI Sooners unveils a new installment in the Recruiting ROI series. Over the course of 10 weeks, the series examines 20 Sooners over the last 20 years who dramatically exceeded expectations in the crimson and cream.

Damien Williams is a journeyman through and through.

The casual football fan knows Williams as the Kansas City Chiefs' spark-plug running back, the unquestioned linchpin in a Super Bowl LIV victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

But his road to glory began as a lightly recruited prep scatback in San Diego, where he attained a 3-star rating. He ranked well outside the state's top 50 prospects, and 247Sports slotted him as the 697th overall player in the class. He initially committed to Arizona State, but didn't meet the school's academic requirements for admission. Thus, the junior college route was Williams' de facto course of action.

He attended Arizona Western College for two years, then transferred to Oklahoma in 2012 with hopes of sliding in alongside Brennan Clay to form a backfield tandem. Williams proved ready for FBS competition immediately, as he rushed for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season as a Sooner.

However, his senior year — and collegiate career — came to an unceremonious end in November 2013. Bob Stoops dismissed Williams for a violation of team rules, bringing an abrupt end to a season in which he'd rushed for 553 yards and seven scores. He went undrafted in 2014, and eventually signed with the Miami Dolphins.

After four uninspiring years in South Beach, Williams signed with Kansas City, a decision that would pay immediate dividends. He racked up 416 total yards and six touchdowns in 2018, and the Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship. In 2019, his role in the backfield expanded, and he accumulated 711 total yards and seven TDs.

This time around, the Chiefs traveled all the way to the Super Bowl, coincidentally held in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. And as Patrick Mahomes uncharacteristically floundered under the bright lights, Williams dominated his old stomping grounds.

He carried 17 times for 104 yards and a TD, and added four receptions for 29 yards and another TD. His 38-yard scoring scamper with 1:12 to play iced a 31-20 victory, bringing Kansas City their first Super Bowl title in over half a century.

But there's one play for which Sooner Nation will always remember Williams, and it far precedes his NFL fame.

On Oct. 13, 2012, in the raucous atmosphere of the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma led Texas 6-2 late in the first quarter. Pinned at their own 5-yard line, Landry Jones and the Sooners faced a second-and-10.

That's when Williams zipped through a gaggle of Longhorn defenders and into the annals of Sooner history.

Let's revisit the moment in real time.

The play unfolds with all the rhythmic elegance of a John Mayer guitar solo. Jones shouts commands to his line. He settles into his place in the Sooners' iconic, flexbone-esque Pistol T formation, a staple of the post-Bradford era.

Jones takes the snap, spins, hands to Williams. Meanwhile, right tackle Daryl Williams lands an immaculate block on Texas defensive end Alex Okafor, taking him completely out of the play and opening a huge hole at the line of scrimmage.

Fullback Trey Millard is first into the hole. He careens into linebacker DeMarco Cobbs, the Tulsa native and former top in-state recruit who spurned the Sooners for the rival Longhorns. In just a few seconds, he'll certainly be experiencing second thoughts about that decision.

Now here comes Damien Williams, a step behind Millard. Flying in from his position to meet Williams is standout safety Kenny Vaccaro, a future first-round NFL Draft pick. But the Longhorn star mistimes his rush, and he's forced to lunge in desperation for a handful of crimson jersey No. 26. But Williams eludes Vaccaro's grasp, and bursts into the second level. 

Wideout Justin Brown throws a block at the 20-yard line. Williams jump-cuts off Brown's hip at the right hash, then stiff-arms safety Mykkele Thompson into oblivion. With 70-plus yards of open field between Williams and paydirt, the only Longhorn with a prayer of bringing him down is cornerback Quandre Diggs, who's just a step behind and in a dead sprint.

Enter Kenny Stills.

The senior wideout, who'd later run a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, has been heretofore tailing the play from the far side. As Williams crosses the 30-yard line with Diggs in hot pursuit, Stills kicks it into fifth gear.

The speedster blazes into the picture, a human interceptor missile locked in on its target. He's calculated his approach angle perfectly.

Williams approaches midfield, charging from the burnt orange-blanketed end of the bowl into a euphoric sea of crimson. He looks back over his shoulder for just an instant as Stills arrives on the scene.

Stills lowers his head and launches himself into Diggs, laying every ounce of his 190-pound frame into the bone-crushing hit. He sends the Longhorn defensive back tumbling into a jubilant Sooner sideline as Williams tears for the end zone. ABC play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler falls silent, allowing the deafening roar from the Oklahoma faithful to underscore the moment.

Cobbs gives chase in vain; to his credit, he never gave up on the play. He's the only Longhorn still in the broadcast camera shot as Williams struts across the goal line, drops the football, and basks in utter pandemonium. The Pride of Oklahoma's spirited rendition of "Boomer Sooner" is barely audible amidst the din.

Williams' sublime 95-yard run was (and remains) the longest play from scrimmage in the decorated history of the Red River Rivalry. It also set the tone for a wholly one-sided affair, as the Sooners led 36-2 at the half and coasted to a 63-21 shellacking of the Longhorns.

The rest of the football universe may remember Damien Williams for his fleeting glimpse of Super Bowl fame. But in the hearts of Sooner Nation, his name will always conjure up memories of that glorious October afternoon in 2012. He'll be frozen in time, streaking down the sideline at the Cotton Bowl with DeMarco Cobbs trailing in futility.

And in that moment, all is right in a crimson-tinged world.

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