Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2018 7 UNDER THE DOME the game of football. Having that taken away from me was a big loss, it was something I had never felt be- fore, not being able to step out there and cross that line with my boys. "It was something I had to work on and hold myself accountable — and still continue to hold myself ac- countable and continue to strive for greatness." He found the model person in his mother. "She's the matriarch of that fam- ily," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "I remember recruiting Dexter, and Dexter's home was kind of the safe sanctuary for all the kids in the neighborhood. She would have, when I visited that home, 10, 15 kids in that home. … She was the matriarch of that neighborhood. "There's a very strong relationship there. If I have ever had a problem, I just call her and it gets fixed like that. There's no debating when it comes to his response to his mother. "She's going through a difficult time right now, but she's very strong and inspirational to Dexter. His fight to get back to where he is, is certainly personal, but family had something to do with it as well." THE FUTURE Growing up in Orlando, every day Dexter Williams recited the same four words he had put down on pa- per and hung with tape above his bed: "NFL here I come." The goal remains the same, but the perspective has changed in his time at Notre Dame. "I really don't try to think ahead," he said. "I just try to take everything day by day and just continue to trust the process … stay focused on what's important now." When queried about why he was suspended, Williams remained ami- able but direct. "I'm not focused on what hap- pened in the past," Williams stated. "I'm just trying to move forward." A couple of days before the Stanford game, Kelly was counting on possibly a maximum of eight to 10 carries for Williams in his new role, and said any- thing around 20 would be unrealistic. Apparently, 21 wasn't. "To his credit, he really worked hard to be in the best possible condi- tion to go in there and impact," Kelly said of the 5-11, 215-pound Williams, who added about 12 pounds to his body armor this past year. "She told me before this game just to go out and have fun, live your dream out," Williams said of the final message he received from his mother prior to the kickoff with Stanford. "I told myself I'm not going to worry about any stats. Whatever happens, when I get the rock just go and do what I have to do, hit the right holes, make the right cuts. "A soon as we won I told her I love her and I blew her a kiss. It was a great feeling." The decision to leave Florida for the unknown in northern Indiana has had its share of setbacks, includ- ing an arrest for marijuana posses- sion in August 2016, but the benefits have been getting reaped in his final months on campus. "He's now, I think, just in a better place, a much more mature person that is now able to bring that on a consis- tent basis day in, day out," Kelly said. With more juice still ahead. ✦ bit.ly/LittleIrish SHOP NOW IRISH LOOKS FOR THE LITTLE ONES (800) 647-4641 NDcatalog.com