The Ex-Retiree Who Could Shake Up the CFB Playoff Picture: Utah's Joe Williams

Joe Williams was already one of the most bizarre stories in college football. Following Utah's second game of the season, the team's starting running back decided to quit. The school sold it as his "retirement."

A retiree—at 23.

The story got even wackier two weeks ago when Williams was welcomed back to the Utes. He is now the hottest running back in college football, running for 511 yards in two games, and he's looking to play spoiler Saturday with No. 4 Washington coming to town.

The demand for Williams' services became necessary in the ensuing weeks after his retirement when Utah's depth chart at running back became a ward unit. The Utes lost four backs to injury, and what was left heading into the Oregon State game was a walk-on and one scholarship player who has since left the team.

That's when Williams' old buddies started pushing hard. They wanted him back, and the coaching staff was smart enough not to burn any bridges with Williams when he made what seemed like an odd decision to leave the team.

"He left here on good terms when that happened and was a great young man, someone we loved," running backs coach Dennis Erickson said. "I spent more time trying to replace him and develop some depth than worry about where he was at to be very honest with you."

When that depth ran out, Erickson picked up the phone.

"We communicated with him and found out his interest," Erickson said. "The biggest thing with Joe, there's one reason he came back and one reason only, and that was to help his teammates."

So on Oct. 15 at Oregon State, Williams returned to football after missing four games. He ran for 179 yards and a touchdown, and the Utes won 19-14.

Last Saturday in his second game back, Williams ran for a school-record 332 yards and four touchdowns at the Rose Bowl in a 52-45 win over UCLA. It was the most yards a Division I back has run for since 2014.

Out of retirement. Into the record books.

The Utes, ranked 17th in the country, are now 7-1 and host No. 4 Washington this weekend with a chance to unseat the Huskies from a playoff spot and possibly get into the playoff picture themselves.

If Utah wins, follows that up with wins in its final three regular-season games and then knocks off the Huskies again in the Pac-12 title game, that's a resume worthy of consideration.

Such a scenario might seem far-fetched, but the realistic situation went out the door when a retiree returned to save Utah's season.

So why in the world did Williams step away from football?

That explanation is simple.

"Just some nagging injuries," said Williams, who was dealing with pain in his back, knees and shins. "I had some concussions here and there that never really got looked into. Overall, everything was hurting."

Considering the dangers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the toll football can take on a player's body, it's hard to criticize a college guy who is banged up from stepping away.

"I just tried to take a step back and tried to reflect on where I was personally, looking toward my future and being healthier, looking forward to my life and career path after football," Williams said.

That life includes a fiancee, Jasmine Jones, and a potential career serving youth. Williams will earn a sociology degree from Utah in December, and he already has an associate's degree in criminal justice. He plans to go into coaching or social work.

A totally different future could be presenting itself now: the NFL.

Williams is on the radar after his recent performances. CBSSports.com has him ranked 34th among running backs, and he will continue to rise with more performances like his last two. Williams has speed that jumps off the screen. When he got into the open field against UCLA, it looked like someone had hit the fast-forward button.

"He's got great speed, as good as speed as anybody in football at that position," Erickson said.

Williams has clocked a 4.35-second 40. At the last 11 NFL draft combines, only six running backs have run faster 40s.

There will be questions about Williams off the field. He started his career at Connecticut and was booted from the program after his freshman year when he was charged with theft of a credit card, illegal use of a credit card and sixth-degree larceny, according to the Hartford Courant, in August 2013.

Williams' version of the story, which he shared with the the Salt Lake Tribune last year, was that he had asked some older players about nice clothes, backpacks and sneakers they wore, and they said they got them at a discount rate.

He gave them $100 for a backpack that retailed at $1,400, and a week later he received a package in the mail at his house, which led to the police knocking on his door. He eventually accepted an Alford plea, which is where a defendant pleads guilty but maintains his innocence, in order to be allowed to play junior college ball at ASA College in New York.

"He admitted, 'I made a mistake. I did something I shouldn't have done, and I'm looking for a second chance,'" said Chris Boden, his offensive coordinator at ASA.

Williams has never been an issue off the field since, and the bigger question surrounding his pro future is whether he wants to keep playing football.

"I think he's got a chance," Erickson said. "First of all, it's about how bad he wants to do it is the most important thing, and it depends on what they see. Obviously if you're in the NFL, you check on everything, [including] why did he leave?"

That question is unanswered. But it's possible the Williams we're seeing now would have never arrived this season had he not stepped away to get his body right. He was averaging only 3.4 yards per carry and had a fumble in each of the first two games. He's averaged 8.1 yards per carry and has not fumbled since his return.

Williams is enjoying playing football again—the way he's running, how could he not?—but it's not like he was longing for the game when he was away.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

"I was having fun," he said. "I always have fun on the field, and I was having fun off the field just knowing that I have my backup plan in the works. Coach [Kyle Whittingham] would always tell us that football is only a certain part of your life, and the rest is based off your academics and what you do towards using your degree. That's what I took to heart, and that's what I was focused on doing."

In many ways, Williams has become the Utes' savior. They would not have been able to employ the game plans they had against Oregon State and UCLA without him.

But he's gained enough perspective not to let that go to his head.

"I'm just taking it day by day," Williams said. "I haven't really let the spotlight get to me. I'm just doing my job. It's nice to get the record and all that, but at the end of the day, records don't mean anything if we don't get the win."

Now the running back has turned his attention to the Huskies, who have the best defense in the Pac-12. They're allowing only 14.6 points per game.

But if there's a possible leak in that Washington unit, it's the run defense. Arizona nearly upset Washington five weeks ago, running for 308 yards in an overtime loss.

That was a different type of attack than Utah uses (the spread versus more of a power game). But outside of Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, Washington has arguably not faced a more talented back. Even missing four games, Williams ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in rushing.

It's also possible we haven't seen his best yet.

Williams said he worked out some during his time away, but his conditioning wasn't where he needed it to be these last two weeks. The out-of-shape version of Williams carried the ball 63 times in two games.

Scary to think what this former retiree will do when he gets his wind back.

C.J. Moore covers college basketball and football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @CJMooreBR.