Fatherhood Brings Extra Motivation for Williams
7/24/2023 4:04:00 PM | Football
TCU's top returning receiver inspired by his daughter
Head Coach Sonny Dykes' 6-year-old son Daniel wasn't the youngest in the house when the TCU offense came over for dinner last month. This time, there was someone much younger.
Born on May 2 of this year, her name is Legacy Williams.
"The offense likes her," Savion Williams, the junior wide receiver, says of his and his fiancee's newborn daughter. "I took her to Coach Dykes' house — we had a little dinner over there."
With so many responsibilities already piled on a student-athlete, this season Savion has yet another. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't mind.
"It's a really big motivation for me now when it comes to football," Williams said. "Being her dad, it's been great so far. I love it."
Williams, who admits he struggles at times to be a vocal leader, says Legacy has already helped him make strides in changing that.
"It really puts more confidence in me," Williams says of having Legacy and taking care of her. "And it made me more vocal."
To aid in his transition to being more vocal, Williams constantly looks back at what he learned from former TCU teammates Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis, now both rookies in the NFL.
"I learned a lot from them, and I've taken a lot of leadership from them," Williams said. "Seeing what they did (last year) and how they did it — mainly just focus."
Not only that, but Williams now has a constant reminder to be a good role model.
"On the field, (Legacy) helps me a lot, because if something doesn't go my way, and I think about getting down on myself, I can think about my daughter," he explained as he spends practically all day with her.
After morning lift and practice, Williams showers, goes home and is with her all day before getting to sleep early to repeat the process.
"I do the same thing over and over, every day," he says.
While still too young to understand the sport her father plays — or quite how good he is at it, as the top returning receiver on last year's College Football Playoff runner-up team — Williams insists Legacy will soon be wearing TCU merchandise.
Also new to TCU are two of the biggest transfers the Horned Frogs picked up in the offseason. JP Richardson, from Oklahoma State, and JoJo Earle, from Alabama, look to make big moves in a receiving corps that lost Johnston, Davis and Taye Barber to the NFL.
"Me, JP, and JoJo — we're real close," Williams said. "They're going to help the offense a lot."
So will quarterback Chandler Morris, who was last season's starter until an injury in the season opener against Colorado allowed Max Duggan to take the spot and never look back.
And unlike with JP and JoJo, Williams is already familiar with Morris — not just because they've been at TCU together the last two seasons.
"Me and Chandler have been close since we were kids," Williams said, explaining that he got to know Chandler when Williams' uncle played high school football for Chandler's dad. "We're real comfortable around each other. Almost like brothers."
That connection will certainly help Morris, especially because Williams says he's already very confident.
"He has a lot of confidence right now," Williams said. "You can tell by how he walks around, how he talks about the season."
Williams, too, has plenty of confidence, and they're reflected in the seven goals he has written down this season, three of which are to have over 1,000 receiving yards, catch all 50/50 balls, and make First-Team All-Big 12.
In his free time — the little Legacy will allow him to have — you might find Williams riding horses.
His grandma taught him when he was little and early on at TCU, Williams found a group of friends and located a barn 10 minutes away. Upon first arriving at TCU, Williams says he rode nearly every day.
New this season, though, is the number Williams will be wearing. Having worn 18 the last three seasons, Williams finally returns to his high school number: 3.
"It's funny because my freshman year, when I first got here, I asked Emari (Demercado) if he had plans of giving up number 3. And he said no. So I had to wait til Emari left to get it."
Well, Demercado is now at the next level — he's off with the Arizona Cardinals at training camp.
Williams, for his part, finally gets the jersey he wanted.
He'll make sure to order an XXS for Legacy.
