Zacharyus Williams Emerging As Wide Receiver One For Utah Football
Apr 10, 2025, 3:47 PM
Utah receiver Zacharyus Williams. Photo courtesy by Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah receiver Zacharyus Williams is emerging as an answer to one of the biggest question marks for Utah football coming into spring ball.
Utah has nearly completely remade its wide receiver room. After a few departures, whether through graduation or transfer, five new players joined the program in January.
They also brought in a new offensive coordinator and receivers coach. There’s been a lot to sort through, and fortunately for Utah, Williams is stepping up.
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Zacharyus Williams is emerging as go-to receiver for Utah offense
It wasn’t too long ago that Kyle Whittingham asked, “Who’s going to step up and be the go-to guy?”
After a couple of weeks of spring ball practices, Williams has started to set himself apart from the rest of the group.
“Zacharyus Williams is becoming—if we had to play today, he’s wide receiver one,” Whittingham shared. “He’s the guy that’s making the most plays, getting open, running the best routes, catching the football the cleanest.”
That’s significant, as Williams showed some promise in the final game of the season. He’s parlayed that into a good offense and continued to build upon that performance.
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“Yeah, I do believe I had a good game [against UCF], and it has been a confidence booster, but I still got to earn my spot and come out here ready to work,” Zacharyus Williams shared.
For Williams, he’s taken a rather simple approach to his development this offseason.
“Just doing what the coaches tell me to do, come out here ready to work, and give it my all every day,” he said.
Beyond the thing a receiver must be good at to succeed—route running, catching, etc.—Williams has added a bit of additional playmaking.
“He is really dangerous after the catch, that’s one of his main attributes,” Whittingham said of Williams YAC ability. “He can make some people miss. He’s very good on the jet sweeps. In fact, I’m pretty convinced that, if we had to, he could play running back. I mean, he’s got that natural ability with the ball in his hands.”
“Playing running back was one of my first positions, so I’ve always had that sort of in my bag,” Williams shared.
All of that is what’s contributing to Williams’ emergence this spring, but above all else, it’s humble approach to the game. Williams has brought that workman-like mentality to the receiver room and focuses on earning every opportunity.
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Williams liking the offense, chemistry with Devon Dampier
“It’s going well, you can see it on the field,” Williams said of the offensive progress the group has made.
Incorporating so many new players into a new offense can be a process. Fortuntately, Devon Dampier’s experience in Jason Beck’s offense has been key to their improvement.
“Devon’s been awesome, he’s great communicating with us in the huddle,” Williams shared. “We’re all out here, ready to work, we all got something to prove, and I feel like it’s going to be a good year.”
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