How the Savion Williams package helped turn TCU’s season around
Sometimes all it takes to turn around a season is one wrinkle that changes everything.
There are a lot of reasons for TCU’s improvement over the last five games. Fewer turnovers, more toughness against adversity, but the biggest game changer for the Horned Frogs was the introduction of the Savion Williams package in the back field.
Going back to the win over Utah, TCU has used their talented 6-foot-5 wide receiver more and more as a running back or wildcat quarterback each week. In the Horned Frogs’ Saturday 49-28 win over Arizona, Williams once again was effective with 80 yards on just nine carries.
Williams is TCU’s second-leading rusher with 312 yards while averaging a team-high 7.3 yards per carry. No other running back with double digit carries averages more than five.
Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles figured putting Williams in the backfield would just be effective for a play or two, but that quickly changed once they saw how productive Williams was with the ball in his hands.
“It kind of happened by chance a bit. There was one play against Utah and it was supposed to be a one off,” Dykes said earlier in the week before the win over Arizona. “And then it was like, that was really good, let’s do that again. Then we ran the clock out and that gave us the ability to do that.”
Briles has taken his fair share of criticism since taking over as offensive coordinator, but he deserves a ton of credit for being open-minded to finding a way to generate some semblance of a running game.
It may sound like a simple idea, just putting your most athletic player in the backfield with an extra blocker, but sometimes simple is the most effective and now TCU has built a number of different concepts around that simple idea.
That idea hasn’t just helped turn the season around, it’s also opened up new possibilities in the NFL for Williams.
“You have to give Kendal and the offensive staff a lot of credit now for being creative,” Dykes said. “I think this has helped his draft status unbelievably. I think before people saw him as a really talented wide receiver. Now I think people see him as Deebo Samuel now. To me I think it has made a huge difference for his future when he leaves TCU.
“I think we’ll look back on this and say wow it helped us win football games and it made a difference in Savion’s life and financial status.”
Where would TCU be without their Savion package? Williams made two of the most important plays to break open the game against the Wildcats.
The first came on a fourth down gamble at the end of the first half with TCU only leading 14-13 with roughly 20 seconds left. The Horned Frogs could’ve taken the points or worse, fell short of converting the first down, but Williams eased all fears when he raced around the right side of the offensive line for a 20-yard touchdown.
The next came in the fourth quarter with the Wildcats still hanging around 35-21. Williams started the play running to his right again, but then made a cut back to the left and nearly outraced the Arizona defense for a touchdown. The 30-yard gain would lead to Cam Cook’s touchdown that basically iced the game.
It was a performance that left Arizona coach Brent Brennan bewildered after the game.
“Where did they find that guy?” Brennan asked after the game. “Oh my gosh, what a stud. He’s so powerful and so strong, I thought we had him dead to rights on that fourth-and-1 and he was able to fall forward for the first down.”
After the game Williams was joined at the podium by his fellow receivers Jack Bech and JP Richardson, each having their own standout seasons this year.
Williams sat in the middle with a pair of shades on and convinced the media in the press room to sing him a late happy birthday song. It was a celebratory mood for a team that has rediscovered its joy while also finding an identity to lean on.
When asked how the Horned Frogs were able to bounce back after Arizona made it 14-13, Bech pointed to Williams.
“Well first, this guy right here,” Bech said. “You put the ball in his hands and I could say I wouldn’t want to be on defense.”
There aren’t many defenders capable of bringing down Williams when he has a head full of steam. The Horned Frogs have morphed into a new team since the bye week before playing Utah and Williams’ toughness and explosiveness in the backfield has been a major catalyst to TCU turning this season around.
