Roydell Williams smiles but leads by showing physicality on field

Roydell Williams grew up in Hueytown, Ala., and on many Friday nights watched Jameis Winston play football.

“With me being such a young age, I used to go to all of the high school football games,” Williams recalled. “It was kind of wild to see him on the team (at FSU). He won the Heisman. At a young age, I’m still kind of figuring things out. I know what’s going on, but I don’t. It was like, ‘Ok, I can do that there. Let’s try it. Let’s go for it.’ ”

Williams was motivated in part by Winston. And on Tuesday he reflected on being in elementary school, watching YouTube workout videos, wanting to do push-ups and sit-ups. “I wanted to be built,” he said.

And Williams built himself into one of the top backs in the state, accumulating 5,929 rushing yards in his prep career with 84 rushing touchdowns. Williams committed to Alabama as a junior and signed in Dec. 2019.

“We’ve never coached someone with this type of talent,” Hueytown coach Greg Patterson told AL.com on signing day. “An SEC signee doesn’t come by every year. It’s been a pleasure to have him, have him in our fieldhouse. Even sometimes when you don’t want to laugh, he’ll make you laugh.”

More than four years later, Williams is still smiling. He picked Alabama, his dream school, but now finds himself playing for Winston's college program after transferring to FSU in January. Williams said he was "thankful and blessed for the opportunity that coach (Mike) Norvell gave me," and he flashed a smile throughout his interview with the media on Tuesday.

“You got to keep a smile on your face,” Williams said. “It gives me a little juice to know that I get to do it – I don’t got to.”

Williams plays with a love of the game but also a mean streak. He had 111 carries for 560 yards and five touchdowns as a junior at Alabama in 2023, pushing him to 1,165 yards and 11 touchdowns in a four-year career in which he averaged 5 yards per carry. Williams opted to transfer just days after the CFP semifinal loss to Michigan, a game in which he had just one carry for -1 yard, but also before Nick Saban’s stunning retirement.

When he jumped in the transfer portal, Williams said Norvell was the first to make contact.

“I just knew from right then, right there, that was the perfect spot for me,” Williams said. “When we first got on the phone, you could tell his intentions when he called me and contacted me as soon as I got in the portal.”

Williams said he enjoys how Norvell communicates and said his “level of intensity is crazy.” Norvell in turn has praised Williams for how quickly he has acclimated to his new teammates and performed in Tour of Duty workouts.

“He is a great young man, incredible, hard worker,” Norvell said on Saturday on his spring booster tour stop in Orlando. “You see talent, ability. He had a lot of good film that he put on display last year. But he’s a natural-born leader.”

Williams said he likes to lead by example but can be vocal when needed. His actions on the field speak volumes, too.

There is plenty to like about what the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Williams brings to FSU. He can run up the middle, bounce off tackle and go or haul in a swing pass and turn upfield. Williams accumulated 373 of his 564 yards as a junior after contact and opponents missed 20 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

FSU coaches think Williams can be a positive in a new-look running back room, one where Trey Benson has now moved on to prepare for the NFL and Rodney Hill has transferred to Florida A&M. Williams could be one of the featured backs along with Lawrance Toafili, Kam Davis, Caziah Holmes, Jaylin Lucas and Sam Singleton.

When asked if he sees any similarities to Benson, who produced 1,896 yards and 33 touchdowns the last two seasons, Williams quickly began to nod in agreement.

“Absolutely,” Williams said. “That was explosive. Just watching his tape, man, that guy was a monster. His playing style, you could tell he’s a hard runner, physical, fast. I saw a clip, man, the guy has some speed on him to be that size. I saw a little of myself when I watched his tape and the playing style that (I) can fit into.”

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