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Rushing and passing, Troy Williams accounted for 38 touchdowns at Santa Monica College this season, and after each, said offensive coordinator Tim Kaub, he'd run and jump and pump his fists like it was his first.
He once earned a personal foul on a play he wasn't involved in. After Santa Monica's free safety returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Williams sprinted from the sidelines to hoist him into the air, drawing an excessive celebration flag.
"He has one speed," Kaub laughed.
In Santa Monica's finale, Williams threw six touchdown passes in the first half alone. When Kaub yanked him after a seventh touchdown strike midway through the third, Williams grabbed a headset and "he's like, 'Coach, let me get one more,' " Kaub said.
"I had to calm him down and say, 'No, Troy. I'm going to hand you to Utah in the best shape of your life.'"
Once rated the nation's No. 1 dual-threat prep quarterback and having started a game for Washington in 2014, Williams seemingly had no reason to want to rub it in against Victor Valley College.
But he wasn't thinking about Victor Valley College, Kaub said.
"He wanted them to know about it in Seattle."
Williams' prep and junior college coaches anxiously await Oct. 29, when Utah's newest quarterback will get a crack at his old team. That is, provided he's first able to beat out junior Brandon Cox, redshirt freshman Chase Hansen and true freshman Tyler Huntley for Utah's starting job during spring and fall practices.
Williams has said he didn't get a fair shot from Washington head coach Chris Petersen after Steve Sarkisian — who offered him midgame when he was a sophomore at Narbonne High — left to become head coach at USC.
Williams played in five games as a redshirt freshman and started just the one, when sophomore Cyler Miles sat out because of a concussion.
Against the persistent blitzes of Arizona State and in the wind and rain at Husky Stadium, Williams didn't fare well. He threw for 139 yards and two interceptions, was sacked five times and lost a fumble. It would be his final appearance as a Husky.
A handful of sources close to Williams felt Petersen and Williams were a poor match. Petersen was too controlling and conservative for Williams, they said, and Williams — such an "alpha dog" that even Kaub's assistants often deferred to him — was too outgoing for Petersen.
Kaub, who reunited with Williams at Santa Monica after calling plays for him at Narbonne, said Petersen has "a distinct type of quarterback he likes."
"He doesn't like the guys like Troy. Troy's personality, it's not abrasive, but it is aggressive."
Williams' competitiveness and assertiveness have been evident since age 9, said then-Pop Warner coach and eventual mentor Robert Gill. When Williams' teammates would work out at Gill's house or go out to eat, they fell in line behind Williams.
"I knew back then that Troy was going to go a pretty long ways," Gill said.
During Williams' freshman year of high school, he was so polished that he practiced with the varsity while playing for the junior varsity, which was instructed by varsity coach Manuel Douglas to "throw the crap out of the ball, win or lose," to prepare him for the next three years.
Douglas said Williams entered a varsity game that season and threw a 45-yard touchdown on his first pass.
In Williams' senior campaign, as the Gauchos went 14-1, he tossed 39 touchdowns while rushing for 10 more and handling the team's punting duties — on the rare occasion a punter was called for.
Douglas said the "dual-threat" label was misapplied.
"He was OK at running the ball," Douglas said, but Williams distinguished himself with hard, accurate throws and beyond-his-years field vision.
Said Kaub: "If Troy could decide how he was going to win a game, he would want to chuck it 45 times."
In fact, he rushed for fewer than 150 yards at Santa Monica while completing 68 percent of his passes and throwing just four interceptions.
Kaub had told Williams that his name recognition was such that he could have transferred directly to a four-year school, but Williams had wanted to continue playing.
"I wasn't going to say no, that's for sure," Kaub joked. Santa Monica went 11-0.
A Ute quarterback hasn't passed for 2,400 yards since Brian Johnson led Utah to a Sugar Bowl victory in 2008. Senior Travis Wilson threw for 110 yards or fewer in each of Utah's final three games. Three late-season losses left many to ponder what 10-3 Utah might've accomplished with a more prolific passing game.
Williams watched. He understands. But he doesn't have anything negative to say about Utah's performance, he said.
"They hit a couple of bumps in the road, but it's always different from a viewer's point of view than actually being in the huddle."
As teammates will learn when he joins them for winter conditioning in the coming weeks, he isn't shy. As a prep, Williams faked out those attending his announcement ceremony by first donning an Arizona sweater and ballcap. After Sarkisian's departure, he tweeted that coaches are faker than a $3 bill. He appeared in an Adidas ad.
But at Utah, Williams has said he knows he's in for another battle. Cox has been praised for his intelligence and his accuracy. Hansen was Utah's No. 3 before switching to safety and sustaining a season-ending injury on the final play against Washington. Huntley received numerous honors as one of Florida's outstanding prep players.
Williams said he's heard from many Utah fans that they can't wait for him to take the reins. He heard that in Seattle, too. This time, he hopes, the love will last.
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
Troy Williams
Vitals • 6-foot-2, 194 pounds
High school • Rated by Rivals.com as nation's No. 1 dual-threat quarterback and by Scout.com as nation's No. 13 overall quarterback while leading Narbonne to a 14-1 record as a senior. Played varsity as a freshman and started three years, finishing with 39 touchdowns and six interceptions as a senior. Also played basketball.
College • Redshirted at Washington in 2013 and appeared in five games in 2014, going 18-for-26 for 130 yards and two interceptions in his one start against Arizona State. At Santa Monica College, went 11-0 while throwing for 2,750 yards and 31 touchdowns against four interceptions, rushing for seven more touchdowns. Watch his highlights here.
Utah connections • First connected with Utah assistant director of player personnel Pablo Cano on a visit to Narbonne High and was later recruited by co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and running backs coach Dennis Erickson. Has a number of friends on the team currently, including junior cornerback Dominique Hatfield, who was Williams' teammate for one season at Narbonne before he transferred to Crenshaw. Williams is also loosely related to former Utah wideout and longtime NFL star Steve Smith, through an uncle.