Aaron Williams Bouncing Back From Injury to Stand Out in Spring Practice at Louisville

The cornerback for the Cardinals has been turning heads in spring ball after having to miss his entire true freshman season due to a torn ACL.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When breaking down the current roster for the Louisville football program, one posiiton group who has some of the highest potential for the 2024 season is the cornerback room. All-ACC corner Quincy Riley is playing like a "totally different person" during spring ball for the Cardinals, and the coaching staff has lauded three transfer additions at the position.

That being said, another cornerback has been standing out during the first half of spring practice: Aaron Williams.

"He's a competitor," cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis said of Williams. "He plays with an edge, he plays with chip on his shoulder. That's what you saw on high school tape, and he's getting back to that. Been very pleased with him. Again, he got a long way to go, but through seven practices, I'm very encouraged with Aaron Williams.

Considering his high school pedigree, it's no surprise that the redshirt freshman is starting to hit his stride. Williams came to Louisville as a consensus top-250 prospect in the Class of 2023, ranking as high as the No. 152 prospect in the nation according to Rivals.

However, it's been a winding journey to get where he is now. During his senior year for Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, Williams was informed that he had torn his ACL at some point during the season. Incredibly, while he did have to be sidelined for a couple weeks, Williams was able to get back on the gridiron and played out the remainder of his senior season on a torn ACL.

"(The doctor) told me if I have no pain, and I can move and everything, so it was all God's blessing," He said. "I went out there and played with a brace on, and then just went out there and played. Once my adrenaline got running, it felt like it was instinct at that point."

Even with an injury that would sideline most athletes for several months, Williams continued to play like an elite prospect. He finished the season with 45 tackles, three pass deflections and two interceptions, helping St. John Bosco finish 13-1 on the season with the No. 1 overall ranking in the nation.

Some of Williams' best football that season was actually played while on that torn ACL. In the Open Division Championship, Williams recorded a pick-six in St. John Bosco's 45-0 rout over against San Mateo (Calif.) Junipero Serra.

Just days after being tabbed as the new head coach at Louisville, Jeff Brohm and his co-defensive coordinator Ron English were both in attendance to watch Williams - as well as Louisville's other Bosco commits - play. Needless to say, they left that game extremely impressed with the corner.

"I like A-Dub," English said last month. "When I went and saw him play, I said, 'That is one of the best high school football players I've seen.' He was unbelievable. We went to the championship game, he's playing on a torn ACL, he had a pick six and just blew guys up. I left and said, 'There's no way this guy has a torn ACL.' The dude is a real dude. That guy can play."

Of course, once his senior season and high school career came to a close, Williams had surgery to repair his torn ACL, thus beginning the lengthy rehab process that comes with such an injury. He would not only have to watch his first spring practice at Louisville while on the sideline, but it also kept him out of fall camp and the Cardinals' entire 2023 season.

it's a situation where one could easily find themselves caught up in negative emotions. That was far from the case with Williams.

"Me being a football coach, I had a knee injury myself in college. That's probably one of the most darkest moments you can ever have," Ellis said. "The team is practicing or playing, and you're sitting back in the corner. You're doing 5am rehab by yourself, and you just with the trainers.

"I talked to (director of sports medicine Shawn) Love during the fall last year, and he said Aaron had a great attitude. In the fall when he was rehabbing, you never saw him with a frown on his face or a sad face. He had that blossom smile that you knew this guy was gonna be a good player."

Instead of taking the 'woe is me' approach, Williams treated his situation as an extended acclimation period and an opportunity to learn. He leaned on veteran guys in the cornerback room to expand his understating of the playbook and the college game, so that when his time finally came, he would be able to make a seamless transition.

"I had guys like Quincy, Jarvis Brownlee (to look up to)," Williams said. "As a young guy, I'm just coming in and I'm really looking and taking in things I can put in my tool belt. It's helped me out. ... I feel like it helped a lot. Especially taking the jump from high school to college."

Now that Williams is finally able to take part in offseason practices for Louisville, he's starting to emerge as a player who could be a significant contributor in the Cardinals' efforts to get back to the ACC Championship Game. He's also incredibly grateful for everyone involved that helped him get to this point.

"It feels like a real blessing," he said. "Especially with the process it took. Working with Shawn Love every day, getting back out there, get used to lateral steps and actual movement. It feels good to actually get back out there and compete."

(Photo of Aaron Williams via University of Louisville Athletics)

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