The SEC hasn’t yet seen David Williams.

It soon will.

In search of a spark offensively, Steve Spurrier says South Carolina will incorporate the 6-foot-1, 215-pound fourth-string tailback into its game plan this weekend to try and manufacture untapped athleticism against East Carolina, a team ranked No. 1 in its league in rush defense last season.

“We need to get David out there,” Spurrier said during Tuesday’s weekly presser, acknowledging the Gamecocks are a run-first football team. “We’ve told him that he’ll carry the ball some and he is. David has been here a solid year now and I think he deserves to carry a few and hopefully we can get some decent blocking for him.”

Williams, a former four-star prospect out of Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia, was rated the eighth-best running back in the country by 247Sports and turned down scholarship offers from Auburn, Ohio State and Tennessee among several others to enroll at South Carolina knowing he would step on campus behind Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds.

Buried on the depth chart, Williams reshirted last fall and took that time to better understand the intricacies of the college game — where to run and when to hit the hole.

South Carolina’s second-fastest player behind senior wideout Damiere Byrd after posting a sub-4.4 40-yard dash during spring practice, Williams’ unique blend of size, speed and elusiveness provides the Gamecocks with an additional element the offense will utilize along with Wilds and third-teamer Shon Carson.

Slowed by injuries, Wilds, a junior, had three 100-yard games during Marcus Lattimore’s time on the shelf during the 2011 season but has never been the featured option since. Healthy for the first time in his career last fall, Carson was the team’s second-leading rusher last with 256 yards but much of his time is spent on special teams.

Spurrier expects Davis, a preseason Heisman candidate, to declare for the NFL Draft at the end of this season, paving the way for Williams who will be in a three-player battle for the starting spot in the 2015 backfield.

Williams averaged 9.8 yards per carry as a prep senior and has breakaway ability at the second level, a feature that sets him apart from Wilds and Carson. He could be the next standout in a formidable lineage of tailbacks Spurrier’s had in his arsenal since arriving at South Carolina in 2005:

  • Cory Boyd (2003-07): 464 carries, 2,267 yards, 23 rushing TD; 117 catches, 1,303 yards, 5 TD
  • Mike Davis (2005-08): 523 carries, 2,231 yards, 19 rushing TD
  • Kenny Miles (2009-12): 315 carries, 1,341 yards, 4 rushing TD
  • Marcus Lattimore (2010-12): 555 carries, 2,677 yards, 38 rushing TD; 74 catches, 767 yards, 3 TD
  • Mike Davis (2012-current): 261 carries, 1,473 yards, 13 rushing TD; 39 catches, 388 yards
  • David Williams (2014-): ?

Based on last week’s paltry performance from South Carolina’s running game, Williams provides a much-needed lift alongside Davis and Wilds.

“Hopefully, we will run the ball a little bit more,” Wilds said this week. “The offensive line loves to run the ball, so just as a team, we just go out there and run the ball a little bit more.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/04/5150632/no-21-south-carolina-seeks-spark.html#storylink=cpy