By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Stanley “Boom” Williams is back.
The Kentucky running back who spent some time away from the Wildcats last week while dealing with a “personal issue” is expected to be ready to go when the Wildcats take on Auburn in a Thursday night encounter on Oct. 15.
“I’m getting prepared for Auburn,” Williams said. “It’s another chance and an opportunity and I’m just happy to be back out on the field with my teammates, be with those guys and prepare for a great Auburn team coming in. It felt good just to be back out there (Tuesday).”
Williams sat out Kentucky’s 34-27 overtime win over Eastern Kentucky last weekend at Commonwealth Stadium, but was on the sidelines in street clothes. Williams said he “learned a lot from that situation” in his first interview in more than a week. Williams wasn’t made available to the media last week and wasn’t part of postgame interviews following Kentucky’s win over the Colonels.
Williams wasn’t suspended and his absence on the field last weekend was due to a coach’s decision.
“It was one of the longest weeks of my life, from the standpoint of not being able to go out there with the team and go through some things they were going through,” Williams said Tuesday. “I had some issues I had to deal with that took me away form the game. You just learn from those things and go on.”
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops said the issue affected Williams’ “performance” and the way he “reacted” but liked the way Williams handled the adversity after the fact. Williams credited Stoops, teammates and administration for their role in helping get the issues resolved in a timely fashion.
“Without those guys, I don’t think I would have been able to do it,” Williams said. “I was dealing with a personal issue that affected my play. I wasn’t the guy they needed me to be. That’s why I was off the field.”
Williams admitted it was “very different and very hard” to watch from the sidelines, but he never doubted his teammates, even when the Wildcats were facing a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter last weekend.
“We were very fortunate,” Williams said. “I was helping those guys with my presence and I was behind them 100 percent during that game. I never stopped believing in those guys. I believed in them the whole way. We were very fortunate to come back and win the game.”
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports reporter who covers UK sports for the NKyTribune