Leshon Williams rushed for three touchdowns during Kansas football’s win at UCF during Big 12 play. Here’s more on the KU standout’s performance.
With Daniel Hishaw Jr. out all week, there was always going to be a burden for Leshon Williams to carry on Saturday, Oct. 4.
After backing up Devin Neal, who’s now in the NFL, Hishaw had the opportunity in 2025 to lead Kansas football’s running back room. Williams, a fellow KU running back who transferred in from Iowa, was brought in to help complement what Hishaw was capable of. Then came the reality Hishaw wouldn’t just miss the previous weekend’s game against Cincinnati, but Saturday’s game at UCF as well.
Williams, though, didn’t just step up for Kansas in what was a pivotal Big 12 Conference game against UCF. He put in an unmistakable performance, scoring a career-high three touchdowns, all of which came on the ground. He helped deliver what became a 27-20 win for the Jayhawks (4-2, 2-1 in Big 12) over the weekend.
“He’s another guy that’s been banged up, and — he’s a tough son of a gun, I’ll tell you that,” KU coach Lance Leipold told reporters postgame about Williams. “Mid-week he’s still fighting through it. He’s limited in practice quite a bit in what he’s doing. And then I’ll ask him, and he goes, ‘I’ll be good to go by Saturday.’ And he’s not a guy that’s looking to pace himself. He just knows — he knows his body, he knows what it’s going to take, but he’s physical. And there were some big runs for him that weren’t touchdowns that you can really see him churning his legs and moving the pile and keeping us in good down-and-distance situations.”
Williams, who finished with 58 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry at UCF, praised his teammates and coaches for helping him enjoy a career night. Asked about dealing with injury, he simply explained there’s no choice but to push forward each time because there’s a job to do. He seemed to note how it is not as if other players aren’t dealing with things, too, that they are working through.
Williams, who missed a game himself earlier this fall, leads Kansas with 303 rushing yards on the year and five rushing scores. He also has a couple of catches for 55 yards, including one touchdown. Starting a new chapter of his college career at KU has been beneficial for him and his new program.
As Hishaw remains out, the burden won’t be entirely on Williams to carry the load for the Jayhawks. There was fellow running back Harry Stewart III taking carries in the win against UCF, and others working themselves in as playmakers. But if he and others have to continue to step up, as teammates have elsewhere on the roster this fall, it doesn’t sound like he is one who is going to shy away from that moment.
“You’ve got to be ready,” Williams said. “We don’t want to have a drop-off from anybody. It’s a physical game at all positions, especially running back, so that’s one of our main things. We want all — make sure everybody’s ready and, yeah, next-man up mentality.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football running back Leshon Williams three touchdowns UCF win
Category: General Sports
