Steve Jones

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University of Louisville redshirt freshman running back Dae Williams tore the anterior cruciate ligament in a knee at practice a week ago, putting his availability for the 2017 season in jeopardy, his mother and father said Wednesday.

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Williams, who has received some first-team practice reps this spring and shaped up as a contender for U of L's starting job, is tentatively scheduled to have surgery sometime next week, his father, Jon, and mother, Monica, both said.

ACL surgery generally requires a six-month recovery, and Monica Williams said her son is hoping that he can return to the field by October. Jon Williams said his son will have surgery once a turf burn on his leg heals, possibly as early as Monday.

"He had great momentum, and this is disheartening, of course," Jon Williams said. "... But I know he's resilient and he has a lot of fight in him, so I expect him to come back and better and improved than he was. I think he'll be great, he'll be fine."

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With Dae Williams and senior Jeremy Smith injured, the Cards would appear to be short-handed at running back with the spring game coming on Saturday. Smith has an undisclosed injury, but it's thought that he'll be fine before fall camp starts in August.

Coach Bobby Petrino said senior Reggie Bonnafon, who primarily plays wide receiver but who played running back in the 2015 season as well as last spring, was back at running back in Saturday's scrimmage, splitting reps with sophomore Trey Smith. The Cardinals' other scholarship running back, Malik Williams, has been limited this spring while recovering from last year's season-ending leg injury.

The Cards have signed four-star running back Colin Wilson – U of L's highest-ranked 2017 recruit, according to Rivals.com – and he would figure to be a candidate for early playing time after he arrives on campus.

Petrino has praised Dae Williams on multiple occasions this spring, and he seemed primed to be a candidate for a breakout season on offense. He's the Cards' biggest running back but also showed an impressive burst during the Cards' public practices. His size and running style are reminiscent of some of the power backs who were a hallmark of Petrino's running game in his first U of L tenure.

Dae Williams got the majority of Louisville's first-team reps in a scrimmage two weekends ago, running for four touchdowns while Jeremy Smith was out. Dae Williams spoke with the media for the first time in his U of L career last Tuesday, expressing optimism and gratitude for the chances he was getting, but he was hurt in practice the next day, his mom said.

Jon Williams said the family had intended to travel to Saturday's spring game to watch Dae Williams and was looking forward to seeing him play in a game for the first time since his senior year of high school. Jon Williams chuckled, saying the family already had T-shirts made for the occasion that say, "All Dae, Every Dae."

Now Jon Williams said he might not head to Louisville until the time of Dae Williams' surgery. That said, Dae Williams' parents said he remains in good spirits and is eager to begin his rehab.

"The biggest thing is him knowing that his career isn't over, knowing he hasn't lost a position or anything, which is basically what the coaches are instilling in him, that he's fine and to get back healthy," Jon Williams said.

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U of L has so far not publicly confirmed Dae Williams' injury. Generally, only Petrino discusses injuries, and he won't meet with the media again until after the spring game.

Dae Williams' injury ends what had been a promising spring for the former unheralded recruit who was positioning himself for a major role in 2017.

He was rated two stars by all the major recruiting sites as a senior at Sapulpa High School in the 2016 class. Recruited by former U of L offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, who is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, native, Dae Williams withdrew a commitment to Southern Methodist and flipped to U of L late in the process. U of L was the only power-conference school to offer him a scholarship as a running back, though others were interested in him as a linebacker.

"He fits right in there with the type of backs that (Petrino has) brought to success before," Jon Williams said. "We were sitting in his office (during the recruiting process), and he said he thought he could make (Dae Williams) the next Heisman winner. He saw something in him that was awesome, and we trust that. That was one of the things that won us over - (Petrino's) confidence in Dae and seeing something that was there."

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Dae Williams said he lowered his 40-yard dash time to about 4.6 seconds this spring. Jon Williams said his son "runs even faster with the pads on." He said he'd been looking forward to seeing Dae Williams' chemistry with Heisman Trophy-winning QB Lamar Jackson in the spring game

"Everything was going as planned," Jon Williams said. "He's been working on this for a long time. I was excited for him. His confidence was growing. His knowledge of the game, his body, just everything was changing for him for the better. I hear he'd totally transformed, and he was ready and was definitely going to be vying for a top position there."

Though Dae Williams' progress is now halted with the injury, his dad said the future remains bright for his son.

"The best is yet to come," he said.