ARLINGTON, Texas — Zach Williams looked more like a safety than a defensive end when he arrived on the University of Arkansas campus in January 2019.
An early enrollee after graduating from Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, Williams carried 204 pounds on his 6-4 frame.
“When I first came in, I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Williams said. “Because usually I’m the big dog and that stuff in high school.
“Then you go against somebody who’s 330, 340 pounds. So I’m like, ‘What am I looking at?’ The first time I saw Dalton Wagner, I said, ‘What is this?’”
As a senior Williams is up to 261 pounds and can hold his own in practice against Wagner — a sixth-year senior offensive tackle who is 6-9 and 331 — and fifth-year senior tackle Luke Jones, 6-5 and 327.
“Zach looks like a beast now,” Jones said. “He’s a real SEC defensive end. It’s a good opportunity to get to go against him.”
Williams has started all three games for the No. 10 Razorbacks and going into tonight’s matchup against No. 23 Texas A&M, he has 2 1/2 sacks to already tie his total for 13 games last season.
In 31 games the previous three seasons, including four starts, Williams had 3 1/2 sacks.
Williams credited the competition from the other defensive ends — primarily Jordan Domineck, Landon Jackson and Jashaud Stewart — with helping him raise his level of play.
“The way we’re in practice, everybody’s fighting for a spot,” Williams said. “I mean, you’re not going to just roll over and let somebody take your spot.
“We support each other 100%, love each other, but iron sharpens iron.”
Domineck (from Georgia Tech) and Jackson (LSU) joined the Razorbacks this season as transfers. Domineck has 4 1/2 sacks to lead the linemen and Jackson has 1 1/2,
“I feel like with these new people that came in, they really helped push me more, than I think last year, because they’re really good,” Williams said. “They make a lot of plays too.”
Rickey Williams, Zach’s father, arranged for Jace Munds, who lives in Little Rock and trains defensive linemen, to work with his son for several Sundays during the summer. They worked for 3 1/2 hours each visit.
“Jace drove from Little Rock to Fayetteville to work with Zach on his skill development,” said Rickey Williams, an All-Southwest Conference linebacker at Arkansas who is an account executive for television station KARK. “They did drills for everything — footwork, hand placement, rotating your hips.
“Zach really took it seriously, because I told him, ‘If you want to improve, you need to do more work.’”
The extra summer work was motivating for Zach Williams.
“I did put in some work over the summer, so of course I wanted to showcase my abilities,” he said. “I’m going to keep trying to perform, not only for myself, but for everybody else.”
Williams has played 133 snaps on defense this season according to Pro Football Focus data and graded at 74.3 overall. He has 8 tackles — including 3 1/2 for losses totaling 23 yards — and 2 quarterback hurries.
“Zach is playing faster,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said. “I would say his quickness off the ball, his finishing, are better this year.
“He’s played a lot of ball. Now, physically he’s big enough to do what his mind wanted him to do.
“I’m really proud of him. I think he’ll just continue to improve.”
Williams had two sacks in Arkansas’ 38-27 victory Missouri State last week, including dropping elusive quarterback Jason Shelley for a 9-yard loss on the Bears’ next-to-last possession to force a punt with the Razorbacks clinging to a 31-27 lead.
“It was a joy to see him after the game when he came out with a big smile on his face,” Rickey Williams said. “That made us feel good.
“He got to the quarterback — and he needs to get to the quarterback this Saturday too.”
Rickey Williams has helped his son maintain weight by having him switch to drinking carbohydrate shakes rather than ones that simply add calories.
“I hand deliver the stuff to him,” Rickey Williams said. “I don’t even take a chance on shipping it.”
Zach Williams said he’s able to keep weight on after playing at about 240 pounds last season.
The added weight has helped Williams play strong in the run game, where he has a 77.7 grade this season according to Pro Football Focus.
“I feel like I’ve gone a lot farther than a lot of other people would expect, but I still have a lot, a lot, a lot of room to grow,” Williams said of his overall game. “I do recognize that.”
The Razorbacks were 2-2 against the Aggies when Rickey Williams played at Arkansas from 1984-87 and both schools were Southwest Conference members.
“When you see the Hogs run onto the field and see A&M run onto the field, the memories come back,” Rickey Williams said.
Zach Williams said his father has spoken to him about the importance of the Texas A&M game, but also about every other opponent on Arkansas’ schedule starting with the opener against Cincinnati.
“My dad, he’s very passionate about everything, so it’s kind of hard to sift through what he’s most passionate about,” Zach Williams said. “But he has talked to me about the Aggies and why this game is a big deal, but he also talked about Missouri State, Cincinnati.
“I get a little lecture every week about how important the next game is.”
Rickey Williams said he’s proud of the growth of his son as a player and person.
“Watching him develop not only his body, but his mind, has been really special,” Rickey Williams said. “He’s a totally different person. He’s become a man.”