How freshman RB Marquese Williams will fit in the Gophers' RB room
We move on in our look at how summer enrollees from Minnesota's 2023 recruiting class will fit the Gophers' depth chart and position rooms heading into next season. Today, we move on to the second running back the Gophers landed in the 2023 class, Pennsylvania running back Marquese Williams.
It's worth reminding you that the following players have already enrolled early; QB Drew Viotto, RB Darius Taylor, WR Kenric Lanier, WR TJ McWilliams, OL Reese Tripp, OL Greg Johnson, DT Martin Owusu, DB Kerry Brown, and DB Garrison Monroe.
What he brings to the Gophers:
Scatback. Swiss Army knife. Jack of all trades. Whatever you want to call him, Williams is a bit of a do-it-all type of running back. He is on the smaller side, his 5-foot-10, 180-pound is probably a bit generous but even on the smaller side, Williams is a well-built, strong running back. You can see that strength in how he runs, he's not afraid to run through opposing defenders. He also has the burst, acceleration, and speed to break into the open field and make it a foot race. He shows the ability as well to be a quality pass catcher out of the backfield.
While not as small as this player, he does remind you quite a bit of a Deuce Vaughn-type player. Vaughn of course was dominant for Kansas State over the last three seasons, totaling nearly 5,000 total yards and 43 touchdowns. We're not saying Williams will have that level of an impact but the two players have very similar skillset and playstyle.
Where fits in the Gophers' running back room?
| No.1 | No.2 | No.3 | No.4 | No.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sean Tyler |
Zach Evans |
Bryce Williams OR Darius Taylor |
Bryce Williams |
Marsquese Williams |
Williams is very likely to redshirt this upcoming season for the Gophers. The program is extremely deep at the running back position with Western Michigan transfer Sean Tlyer set to lead the way with the departure of Mohammed Ibrahim.
Zach Evans has the No. 2 spot locked down but the No.3 and No.4 spots in the rotation is where it gets interesting. Bryce Williams will surely see playing time this year but I personally am very high on Darius Taylor and believe he's the type of talent that could make an instant impact. Does he need to start? No, but providing he looks the part in fall camp, there are not many disadvantages to playing Taylor his season. If he's the type of running back that we believe he could be, the chances of him being in Minneapolis for five seasons seem unlikely anyways. But that's a whole different debate for a different time.
That being said, Williams is a bit of a different story. While Williams's skillset is very good and he has a chance to be a productive career at the collegiate level himself, he is on the smaller side. He's going to need some time to bulk up a bit more. Beyond that, the depth chart at running back is full and while he may see a few carries throughout the year, there are going to be limited options overall.
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