Florida State coach Mike Norvell said running back Roydell Williams will miss a “period of time” due to an injury sustained in the Seminoles’ season-opening upset win over his former school, Alabama. Florida State did not list Williams on its depth chart for the Week 2 game against East Texas A&M, and Norvell ruled him out for the contest. Gavin Sawchuk is expected to start in his absence.
Williams handled six carries in Week 1 and tallied 14 yards against the Crimson Tide. He played into the fourth quarter and received his final touch with 9:09 remaining when he converted a fourth-and-1 with a 4-yard run.
“I absolutely hate it for the young man,” Norvell said during his Monday press conference. “It’s not something that we’re expecting to stretch into anything for the season, but he will miss a period of time. This week. I hate for him to miss anything. He was a great factor in the game the other day. The fourth-down run there on our own end of the field, he showed power and he showed toughness. He was definitely a great contributor in that win.”
Williams is in his sixth year of college football and second with Florida State. He spent the first four years of his career at Alabama and peaked in 2023 with a 560-yard, five-touchdown campaign on the ground and added 58 yards and an additional score as a receiver. The 2024 transfer played in just four games for the Seminoles last year and missed most of the season due to injury.
Any injuries in the running back group are notable given Florida State’s commitment to the run with new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. The Seminoles emphasized their ground game against Alabama with 230 of their 382 total yards coming via the run. Quarterback Tommy Castellanos led the way with a team-high 16 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown while seven players toted the ball at least once.
The loss of a key starter is a tough break for Florida State coming out of an otherwise colossal opening weekend to the 2025 season. The Seminoles’ win was a cathartic experience that expelled many of the demons from last year’s two-win disaster of a campaign and from their College Football Playoff snub in 2023, which saw the Crimson Tide get into the bracket instead of them.
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