Oregon track star Micah Williams has decided to test his speed out on the football field for the Ducks.
Williams, who won the Pac-12 championship in the 100 meters each of the last two seasons (10.22 seconds in 2023) and qualified for the NCAA championships, took part in practice Tuesday, and afterward coach Dan Lanning talked about how it all came to be.
"Micah wanted to play football, and we want to give him a chance to see if he can," Lanning said. "It's been a long time, he hasn't really played since his freshman year in high school, but you can't coach fast, right? He's fast and we'll see what he's able to do out there for us."
Williams was the Pac-12's Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the 2022 spring outdoor track season, when he won conference titles in both the 100 and 200 meters. Additionally, he became the first Oregon man to win a NCAA championship in the 60 meters (6.49 seconds) during the 2020-21 indoor track season as a freshman among many other accolades and accomplishments.
Lanning said track coach Jerry Schumacher supported the move.
"Jerry's a team guy. Jerry and I talked before and he said, 'Yeah, if this is something he wants to do then this is something we want to let him do," Lanning said. "It's our job to see if it's going to be a fit for him because he's obviously got a long career ahead of him in track. That doesn't change and that's certainly his first priority, but right now it gives him an opportunity to see what he can do."
So how did Williams look at practice?
"He hadn't had a lot of experience since really his freshman year of high school. He played wide receiver in a Wing-T offense, he was pretty good when you give him the reverse. So it's a little bit different," Lanning said. "There's a lot of catching up to do and there's a lot of things to pick up, but he's came here with a great attitude, he's working his tail off and we'll see what happens."
Lanning confirmed Williams is not presently counting toward the Ducks' 85 scholarships.