Some guys might chafe at being stuck behind the hometown hero.
Not Shaud Williams. As far as he's concerned, the positives of being the No. 2 running back on the Omaha Nighthawks' depth chart behind Ahman Green far outweigh any negatives.
Green grew up in Omaha, played college football at Nebraska and then went on to log 12 seasons in the National Football League. He has been the face of Omaha's United Football League expansion franchise since the Nighthawks made him the first player they signed in May.
“It's been great working with Ahman,'' the 5-foot-7, 204-pound Williams said. “You would think that being a former Pro Bowl running back that has done all these things in the NFL, he would come in and be arrogant.
“He's been the complete opposite. He's gone out of his way to help out myself and Maurice (Clarett). He's been nothing like you'd think he'd be. He's been a humble, caring person that wants to see us all do well and be successful.''
Green and Williams combined to rush for 64 yards on 16 carries in Omaha's 27-26 victory over Hartford in the Nighthawks' UFL debut last Friday.
“I thought we ran the ball well,'' Omaha coach Jeff Jagodzinski said.
In addition to running for 49 yards, Green caught four passes for 24 yards to finish with 73 all-purpose yards. Williams, who carried four times for 15 yards, also had two punt returns for 24 yards and returned a kickoff 27 yards to finish with 66 all-purpose yards.
Williams expects to fill a similar role when Omaha faces Sacramento on Saturday.
“Ahman is our starting tailback,'' he said. “I have to be ready to come in if he needs a break and not have our offense not miss a beat. I want us to still be able to do the things we want to in the passing game and run the football when I'm in there.''
This is the 30-year-old Williams' second season in the UFL after playing for regular-season champion Florida last season. He rushed for 103 yards and averaged 4.9 yards for the Tuskers.
He also has four seasons of NFL experience after signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2004 as an undrafted free agent out of Alabama. He rushed for 330 yards on 89 carries with the Bills and tacked on another 137 yards on 20 career receptions.
Getting back to the NFL is the carrot on the stick that drives Williams and most of his Nighthawk teammates. At the same time, Williams draws motivation from being sold short throughout his athletic career.
“A lot of people consider me undersized to play the running-back position,'' he said. “Coach Jags and Rick Mueller have given me a chance to come here and play the game I love, a game I would play for free.
“I can't worry about if people say I'm too small to play. Since I was in junior high, I've always been told that I was too small. It motivates me and makes me work harder. I want to show people that I'm not too small.''
And he's not as small as advertised.
“They list me at 5-7, but I'm actually 5-7 and three-quarters,'' he said. “I don't know why they're always trying to gyp us little guys.''
Williams put up some big numbers at Alabama after transferring from Texas Tech, where he saw limited action. In his first carry with the Crimson Tide, Williams raced 80 yards for a touchdown. He rushed for 921 yards, averaging 7.1 yards, as a junior in 2002 while splitting time with Santonio Beard.
As the fulltime starter as a senior, Williams rushed 280 times for 1,367 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Williams grew up in Texas, where football is king. Playing at Alabama put him in another football hotbed, and he now finds himself in Nebraska.
“It's very similar here to what it was in Alabama,'' said Williams, who in 2009 was inducted into the Texas High School Hall of Fame. “They follow the Cornhuskers here just like they do the Tide in Alabama.
“When I was thinking about coming here, that was one of the things I was told was that this is football country. They love their football here.''
Williams did make one mistake when he wore an Alabama shirt in a trip around town.
“I didn't get the reception I thought I would,'' he said, laughing. “I got a few stares, and I had a couple of people tell me I was No. 1.''
• NOTES: The Nighthawks have signed quarterback Matt Gutierrez and placed quarterback D.J. Shockley on the injured list. Gutierrez participated in the Nighthawks' mini-camp in July before signing with the Chicago Bears. The NFL team released him at the end of training camp. “The good thing about Matt is that he knows our system, our guys and our terminology,'' said Ted Sundquist, Omaha's player personnel director. “He'll be able to step right in.'' Shockley, who has a shoulder injury, will have to sit out four weeks before he's eligible to come off the injured list. ... Daunte Culpepper and Cory Ross aren't the only big names on the Sacramento roster. One of Ross' backups is John David Washington, son of actor Denzel Washington. There is a good chance that father will be at Rosenblatt Stadium to watch son play as the actor reportedly tries to be at all of John David's games when he can.
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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