Who Can Possibly Blame Pooka for Opting Out?
He could have transferred following the 2018 or 2019 seasons. He didn’t. He could’ve opted out of the 2020 season prior to the first game of the season. He didn’t. But finally, Pooka Williams decided to move on, for now, maybe, from the KU football program.
And while it stinks for Kansas Jayhawks and Big 12 fans, no one can be upset by the decision.
Williams said in a tweet posted Monday afternoon that he is opting out to be closer to his mother and family in Louisiana.
“Family and health are the most important things to me,” Williams said in a statement. “Right now I need to be with my mother, who is battling health issues.
“I want to thank Coach Miles and everyone with the Kansas Football program for their commitment and understanding.”
Of course, we are all praying for Pooka Williams and his family right now. But if this is the last we see of Pooka in Jayhawk blue, can you blame him?
He has been the all-purpose yards leader in each of his three seasons on campus, and while I’m not an NFL scout, I’ve got to imagine that he has a future on Sundays in some capacity.
Meantime at KU, the Jayhawks are staring down the barrel at an 0-10 season and will likely be double-digit underdogs in every game the rest of the season.
KU is 6-21 during Pooka’s time on campus and are 2-19 in the Big 12 following Saturday’s loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Yet, he never complained or made any kind of stink publicly, despite the fact that he was, by far, the most talented player on a team that had limited talent around him.
Pooka alluded to the possibility of a reunion with Coach Les Miles when he responded to Miles’ tweet, but at this point, it’s got to be a 50-50 proposition, at best.
Is the NFL next? Could he qualify as a grad transfer? These are questions that have yet to be answered.
But no matter what, Pooka Williams should not be looked at by the KU faithful as any sort of quitter.
It’s the weirdest college football season of all time, the Jayhawks will be lucky to win one game. Then combine the family issues with the reality of being a running back with a certain amount of carries in your body to make money off of, and this decision makes all the sense in the world.
We wish Pooka Williams the best and we hope that his tenure on campus is known as the start of the slow rebuild that is underway in Lawrence.
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