Husky Roster Review: Justice Is Served as Williams Has Spring Breakout

Spring football practice at the University of Washington often is a lot like a movie screening to a test audience.

Players come out of nowhere like some unknown actor and suddenly have star power that wasn't there before.

This happened to freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright, who in the Spring Game went from bit player to leading man in just a few hours with a lot more catches than anyone else.

It happened to defensive back Rahshawn Clark every time he intercepted a pass, which was a half-dozen or more throughout April.

Then, of course, there was Justice Williams, an impressive enough looking athlete at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds just standing still.

Yet on a cold and overcast Saturday afternoon in Husky Stadium, Willliams, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Westlake Village, California, threw off his wraps and revealed himself to be potentially a big deal coming soon to a football theater near you.

"Justice has elevated himself a lot," UW receivers coach Kevin Cummings said. "He came in [as a freshman] and we didn't really see much of him. He's just working on his game. We're challenging him to be a lot better because he has the size and the speed to do it."

Justice Williams heads upfield at the East practice field. | Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

In practice No. 6 on April 12, Williams got things started in his UW coming-out party with a 20-yard diving catch on a ball thrown by Kai Horton.

He followed up with a 45-yard reception on a deep ball from Demond Williams Jr., with a pair of defenders on him, on a play in which he landed hard and had the wind knocked out of him. Like Tom Cruise, he doesn't use stunt doubles.

He next bounced off a defender to make a 29-yard grab, again coming on a pass from Horton.

And, finally, this Williams high-pointed a ball in the end zone over the tight coverage of freshman cornerback D'Aryhian Clemons for a 13-yard touchdown catch, with the pass again coming from Horton.

Then it was time for this son of Roland Williams, a former NFL tight end, to take a bow.

Roll the movie credits.

JUSTICE WILLIAMS FILE

What he's done: After his lost freshman season because of an unspecified injury, Williams caught no fewer than 13 scrimmage passes in spring ball. Besides his breakout day, he hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Dash Beierly in the 12th practice, showing off his speed by catching the ball in full stride in going up the left sideline.

Starter or not: If everything goes as it should, Williams someday will be a Husky starter. A better question is this: wide receiver or tight end? Simply because of the family genes, he likely will carry around that latter possibility. Yet he looks talented and sleek enough as a wide receiver for now.

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