Leshon Williams looking forward to being a Hawkeye
When Iowa offered a scholarship to running back Leshon Williams in May of 2019, he knew right away that he wanted to be a Hawkeye. Now, as he wraps up his senior year of high school, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Williams looks forward to beginning college and making his dream become a reality. We caught up with Williams this week to discuss his training during the pandemic, goals for his freshman year at Iowa, and much more.
Q: How are you handling things with the pandemic and this time at home right now?
WILLIAMS: Well, it’s a big change. Right now, we’re taking online classes where we check in by 10 AM every day. I’m really just trying to stay healthy, stay safe, and limit the number of people I’m around on a daily basis.
Q: What are you doing as far as training?
WILLIAMS: I’m just doing lots of push-ups and sit-ups and stuff. I still get outside and do a little bit of work on the field, but just with a limited amount of people. I’m just trying to stay active basically.
Q: How often do you hear from the Iowa coaches and what have you heard as far as when your class might eventually report to campus?
WILLIAMS: I talked to the running backs coach (Derrick Foster) and the linebackers coach (Seth Wallace) just last week. Right now, everything is still up in the air. Nobody knows when we’ll be able to report, so we’re just going with the flow.
Q: What is kind of their overall message to you?
WILLIAMS: They basically told me just to focus and stay healthy and just to make sure I stay in shape. Then they just asked about my family and wanted to make sure we’re okay during this time.
Q: With Coach Foster, what is your relationship like with him and what does he foresee your role being once you get into the program?
WILLIAMS: We’ve got a good relationship. I think he looks for me to be a guy that leads the team in the running back room and just help the team and contribute in a lot of ways.
Q: How would you characterize your style as a running back?
WILLIAMS: I feel like I’m a balanced back. I can run between the tackles or run outside, I can run routes and catch the ball out of the backfield, so I’m just an all-around back.
Q: Have you found out what number you will be wearing in college?
WILLIAMS: Not yet.
Q: Any preference?
WILLIAMS: Hopefully I can wear #4.
Q: Looking back at your senior year, you missed the middle part of the season with an ankle injury, but got off to quite a start before that. What stands out when you reflect on the year?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I played the first three games before my ankle injury. What really stands out to me is how far my team made it through all the ups and downs and all of the injuries.
Q: What have you heard from Sebastian Castro, your former high school teammate, about his first year at Iowa?
WILLIAMS: He loves it. He can’t wait to get back for his second year and try to get a starting position.
Q: Coming into your freshman year, what is your mindset or your goals as you get ready to start college?
WILLIAMS: I don’t want to rush anything. It’s really just to get the hang of everything, get in my playbook, and focus on school. I feel like football will just come naturally.
Q: When you look back at your commitment, you got the offer and then accepted it just a couple days later, what was it about Iowa that made you decide so quickly?
WILLIAMS: I had visited Iowa probably 7-8 times already and really liked the school and the coaches. It was really an offer I was just waiting for because I had already built a bond with the coaches already.
Q: What do you think makes it such a good fit?
WILLIAMS: Just the coaches. They’re great at developing people, so I feel like they can put me in good position to succeed and not just at football. They can help me become a man and help guide me the right way later on in life.
A three-star prospect, Williams chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Kansas State, Cincinnati, Wyoming, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami-OH, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan, Eastern Illinois, and Youngstown State.
As a senior, Williams finished the season with 121 carries for 1,001 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing six weeks with an ankle injury, as he helped lead Richards High School to a 10-2 record.
See highlights from Williams' senior year at Richards in the video below.