David Williams declining interviews prior to South Carolina game

David Williams will let his play do the talking about his return to South Carolina this week.

The former Gamecocks running back who is now a member of Arkansas’ football team has decided he doesn’t want to do any interviews before the Razorbacks play in Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema said.

“I asked David (Sunday) night, listen, you can do every interview that comes across your desk. We can limit it just to one day this week or we can do none,” Bielema said during his weekly news conference. “And we kind of opted together that we're gonna not have him available to the media until Saturday. Not out of negativity or anything. Just no need for it to dialogue more than it already is.”

Williams, who rushed for 794 yards in three seasons at South Carolina before deciding to leave in the offseason as a graduate transfer, has 203 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries this year for the Razorbacks. His rushing touchdowns equal what the Gamecocks have managed as a team this year.

“I knew him obviously as a recruited high school player. I knew he stood for a lot of great things,” Bielema said. “His high school coaches raved about his skill set.”

South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp approved Williams’ transfer to Arkansas and said Sunday that he wished Williams the best.

“When I called Will or I talked to anybody at South Carolina, they raved about (Williams) and who he was and what he was,” Bielema said. “There was never any angst or ill will. And the same from David. David never had anything but positive dialogue. He wanted to get to an opportunity to maybe play in a pro-style offense and change it up for his senior year. Obviously, we were able to fall into that mode and he's been a blessing in disguise. Just a tremendous person.”

Williams had two touchdowns in Arkansas 50-43 loss to Texas A&M two weeks ago.

“When I brought him on his visit, I said, 'Hey, if it's not a good fit for you or me we'll go in a different direction, but let's just come and see what we've got,’ ” Bielema said. “He was awesome once he got here, and he's been an unbelievable addition since then.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 2:58 PM with the headline "David Williams declining interviews prior to South Carolina game."