Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1037156
6 OCT. 15, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI I n the final two weeks of Sep- tember, Notre Dame's offense received two needed jolts of juice on the football field. The first came with junior Ian Book at quarterback in his ini- tial start at Wake Forest, lead- ing a 56-point explosion after the Fighting Irish had managed only 70 points in the initial three contests. A week later the timing couldn't have been better for senior running back Dexter "Juice" Williams to make his grand entrance in 2018 after serving a four-game suspension for reasons undisclosed by the university. Replacing the injured Jafar Armstrong (knee), who will be sidelined at least through the bye (Oct. 20) weekend, Williams burst for a 45-yard touchdown on his first carry versus No. 7 Stanford and finished with 161 yards on 21 carries in the 38-17 triumph. In his first three sea- sons, he had never had more than eight carries in a game for reasons ranging from durabil- ity to unsound assignment con- sciousness to not recognizing blitz pickups (he did impede one Stanford defender 's prog- ress enough to allow Book to throw a touchdown pass). "I had to be that spark for my team- mates, had to be the one who comes in and gets everyone hyped — that's why they call me the Juice," said Wil- liams, who received his moniker from his head coach, Bob Head, at West Orange High in Orlando, Fla., known for its surplus of orange juice. "I have to be able to keep them going, keep them rallied up, keep them on their toes. We can't never settle for less, we've always got to want more." Williams' 39 carries last year aver- aged an amazing 9.2 yards, but sus- tainability through a full season is his next objective of "wanting more." "I told [Armstrong] before I came out here I was going to play for him and make sure that when he gets healthy he doesn't have to worry about any- thing," Williams said. "We're going to take care of everybody in the running back room. Coach [Autry] Denson had a talk with me before the game that you have to be that guy, you've got to come out and be that spark. "That's what I had to do for my brothers [on the team]." THE MATRIARCH The Juice needed refilling himself this summer and Sep- tember, especially after feeling devastation about his four- game suspension. It came in the form of his mother, Cheryl Williams. When the youngest of her five children (Dexter) was in the eighth grade, the former private school teacher was in a coma at home when he tried to awaken her. By that point she was suf- fering from myasthenia gravis that would hospitalize her three months. It is an autoimmune disorder that causes weakness and rapid fatigue. Complications are now to the point where she is in a terminal stage with her illness, yet she moved up to live with her son through the month of Septem- ber in a local apartment to pro- vide support through his own difficulties while on his way to his undergraduate degree this December. That, combined with the buttress of his teammates and coaches, has buoyed his spirits immensely. Four years ago, Williams ver- bally committed to the University of Miami so he could be relatively near his mother and provide any aid with her illness. However, he became intrigued how Notre Dame could de- velop him on and off the field, and took his official visit about three weeks before the signing period. Three and a half years later, it was mother who came up to provide the support and inspiration he needed. "My mom has been up here since the Michigan game," he said. "She's been keeping me focused. … I love UNDER THE DOME JUICE CREW A mother and child reunion provides another spark Senior Dexter Williams made his presence felt with his first carry of the season, bolting for a 45-yard touchdown to get the Fighting Irish off and running against Stanford Sept. 29. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA