A native of Allen, Texas, he attended Allen where he collected more than 3,500 rushing yards in his career and scored 39 total touchdowns.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 17th best running back prospect of his class, and drew comparisons to former Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner. On November 16, 2011, he committed to play college football at Arkansas, after he had previously been committed to Missouri.
As a true freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games, and made two starts. He recorded 45 rushes for 231 yards and eight receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He scored his first career touchdown on a 74 yard pass, his first reception of his career, on the first offensive play of the game against Kentucky.
As a sophomore in 2013, he played in all 12 games, making 11 starts.
He recorded 150 carries for 900 yards, scoring four touchdowns while adding seven receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Teaming with true freshman Alex Collins, they produced Arkansas’ second pair of teammates to each rush for at least 900 yards in the same season.
In 2014, despite splitting carries with Collins, he rushed for 1190 yards on 211 carries (56 avg) and 12 touchdowns. On December 24, 2014, Williams announced on YouTube in a message to Razorback fans, that he would be returning for his senior season at Arkansas.
During summer camp leading into the 2015 season, Williams suffered a foot injury that would force him to miss the entire upcoming regular season.
