Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
12/143rd/4th & short
10/21Inside-5 share
12 of 14 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (85.7%). 10 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (47.6%).
Josh Williams
Josh Williams: RB · LSU · #27.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Josh Williams
Wins in space out of the backfield. Played for two head coaches at LSU: Ed Orgeron and Brian Kelly. On tape: 90 rushing yards and 61 receiving yards against Vanderbilt, Week 13, 2024.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
LSU in the news
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 20-27vs No. 23 USC | 9 | 33 | 3.7 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-21vs Nicholls | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 3 | W 36-33@ South Carolina | 10 | 20 | 2.0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-17vs UCLA | 13 | 62 | 4.8 | 1 | 23 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-10vs South Alabama | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 7 | W 29-26vs No. 9 Ole Miss | 9 | 34 | 3.8 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-10@ Arkansas | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-38@ No. 14 Texas A&M | 7 | 23 | 3.3 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 11 | L 13-42vs No. 11 Alabama | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 12 | L 16-27@ Florida | 13 | 69 | 5.3 | 0 | 22 | |
| Wk 13 | W 24-17vs Vanderbilt | 14 | 90 | 6.4 | 2 | 21 | Season-high 90 yds |
| Wk 14 | W 37-17vs Oklahoma | 13 | 31 | 2.4 | 0 | 6 | |
 Bowl | W 44-31vs Baylor | 9 | 42 | 4.7 | 1 | 16 | |
| Total | 117 | 482 | 4.1 | 6 | 23 |
Signature game
Week 13 · 2024
W 24-17
vs Vanderbilt
90 rush yds (14 car) · 2 TD · 4 rec · 61 yds
A close one, won by 7 at home.
With G. Nussmeier — 332 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 83.8 · B. Ochsendorf — 37 yards per punt · 2 punts · 41 long
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 11 · Alabama · 4th and 5 · Q4 · EPA −3.22Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Josh Williams for 1 yd to the ALA 20
- Week 13 · Vanderbilt · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.63Josh Williams run for 21 yds for a TD (Damian Ramos KICK)
- Week 13 · Vanderbilt · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.62Josh Williams run for 20 yds for a TD (Damian Ramos KICK)
- Week 12 · Florida · 3rd and 9 · Q2 · EPA +2.61Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Josh Williams for 9 yds to the LSU 48 for a
- Week 3 · South Carolina · 3rd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +2.54Josh Williams run for 2 yds for a TD (Damian Ramos KICK)
- Week 7 · Ole Miss · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.50Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Josh Williams for 16 yds to the MISS 48 for a
4 more plays
- Week 1 · Baylor · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.48Josh Williams run for 4 yds for a TD (Damian Ramos KICK)
- Week 14 · Oklahoma · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA +2.25Josh Williams run for 3 yds to the OU 46 for a
- Week 14 · Oklahoma · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.19Josh Williams run for 2 yds to the 50 yard line for a
- Week 12 · Florida · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.16Garrett Nussmeier pass complete to Josh Williams for 12 yds to the LSU 38 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
117 of 117 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
43%108 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds16%of carries
19 carries
Grind
1–3 yds44%of carries
52 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds29%of carries
34 carries
Explosive
10+ yds10%of carries
12 carries
12 of 14 (86%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 4 of 10 (40%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.1 yds/carry on 117 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Situational
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
16%
Stuffed (≤0)
44%
Grind (1–3)
29%
Chunk (4–9)
10%
Explosive (10+)
Teams and coaches
2020LSU5-5HC: Ed Orgeron · Balanced, fast tempo
2021LSU6-7HC: Ed Orgeron · Balanced
2022LSU10-4HC: Brian Kelly · Balanced
2023LSU10-3HC: Brian Kelly · Balanced
2024LSU9-4HC: Brian Kelly · Pass-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 39.6 | 4.3 | 0.6 |
| Road4g | 32.5 | 3.5 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 34.6 | 4.3 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 40.0 | 3.8 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Kelly
Pass share
59.2%
533 pass / 368 run
Plays / game
69.3
13 games
Team sack rate
2.9%
556 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2024
Starter
117 carries and 31 catches in 13 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
52 · #114 of 310 RBs · 2024
Two-star recruit. Now #114 at the position.
Six seasons at LSU
- 2024 LSU KellyYear 6 · 13 games
- 2023 LSU KellyYear 5 · 12 games
- 2022 LSU KellyYear 4 · 11 games
- 2021 LSU OrgeronYear 3 · 8 games
- 2020 LSU OrgeronYear 2 · 3 games
- 2019 LSU OrgeronYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- High school The Kinkaid SchoolHouston, TX · Class of 2019Two-star, No. 3,111 in the 2019 class. Signed with LSU.
How it ended
Five seasons at LSU, 1,465 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
2019
- Signed with LSUTwo-star, out of The Kinkaid School
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
2 coaches2019–2021
LSU
Coaching transition mid-career: Ed Orgeron → Brian Kelly. Worth noting in scheme + development context.