Football fans at Reeths-Puffer High School still talk about their Rocket.  After all, Johnny Williams was the most electrifying runner in school history before taking his talents to the University of Wisconsin and the NFL.

Williams starred on the gridiron in 1977-78 and was the forerunner of an outstanding crop of area running backs that included Orchard View’s Curtis Adams and Muskegon Catholic’s Bobby Morse.  All three became star backs at their respective colleges before entering the NFL.

Williams was a two-time all-stater at Puffer and rushed for 1,316 yards in 1977.  He had a game-high 301 yards against Fruitport that same year and scored 118 points during his senior year, ranking him among the top all-time football players in Muskegon area history.  Williams ranks third on the area’s all-time rushing list with 2,988 career yards.  Upon graduation, he entered the University of Wisconsin where he gained 101 yards in his first game as a starter.  He also scored the touchdown that beat Michigan in 1981 on a screen pass for 70 yards.  He finished that season with 748 rushing yards.

In 1983, Williams was drafted in the 14th round by the Michigan Panthers of the USFL and made an immediate impact, rushing for three touchdowns in his first game.  He closed the season with 624 yards on 153 carries.  Johnny scored 12 touchdowns as the Panthers won the league’s first championship crown.  The next year, he rushed for 113 yards on 23 carries.

In 1985, Williams was signed by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys before being waived midway through the season.  He had stints with three more teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, before joining the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1988.  He retired after that season.