Oregon Track Star Micah Williams Joins Football Team for 2023 Season
Oregon Football has been known for its speed for a long time.
Just look back to the days of De'Anthony Thomas, LaMichael James and Devon Allen for a taste of some of the fastest players to come through Eugene.
It looks like there's even more on the way after junior sprinter Micah Williams joined the football team ahead of the 2023 college football season.
Williams, a native of Portland, Oregon, will suit at wide receiver for the Ducks this year.
Head coach Dan Lanning spoke about the addition following Tuesday's fall camp practice.
"Micah wanted to play football and we wanted to give him a chance to see if he can," Lanning told reporters. "It's been a long time. He hasn't really played since his freshman year of high school, but you can't coach fast. He's fast, we'll see what he's able to do out there for us."
It didn't take much convincing for Jerry Schumacher, Oregon's head track and field coach, to give the green light.
"Jerry's a team guy," Lanning said of Schumacher's role in Williams joining the team. "Jerry and I talked before and he said 'Yeah if this is something he wants to do, this is something we want to let him do.' It's our job to see if it's gonna be a fit for him because he's obviously got a long career ahead of him in track and that doesn't change."
Williams clocked blazing times of 6.49 seconds in the 60 meters and 9.99 seconds in the 100 meters last season and his speed will certainly be a welcome addition for Duck Football.
Of course it's not the first time we've seen dual-sport athletes play football at Oregon, as the Ducks have seen players like the aforementioned Devon Allen and LaMichael James star on the football field and track.
The Ducks signed true freshman cornerback Rodrick Pleasant in their 2023 recruiting class, a world-class sprinter in his own right, who set the California state record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.14 seconds as a junior.
Williams joins a wide receiver room that's nothing if not crowded, headlined by junior Troy Franklin, who landed on the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list, as well as transfers Traeshon Holden, Tez Johnson and Gary Bryant Jr.
He's got some catching up to do and time will tell if the sprinter can pick up where he left off in high school.
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