FRISCO, Texas -- On his way to becoming the valedictorian at Wallace-Rose High School in Teachey, North Carolina, Javonte Williams' favorite subject was history.
"I just liked learning about stuff from the past," said Williams, who carried a 4.6 grade point average.
When he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in March, Williams did not need much time to know the history of the franchise's running backs. The moment he walked into the position room, he saw images of Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, and Tony Dorsett on the wall.
He already knew about the franchise's third all-time leading rusher, Ezekiel Elliott, who ran for a team rookie record 1,631 yards in 2016. Perhaps he even knew DeMarco Murray has the Cowboys' single-season record with 1,845 yards in 2014.
"It's been a lot of good backs that came through here," Williams said, "so just try to keep that legacy, uphold that."
The Cowboys aren't asking Williams to be Smith, Dorsett, Elliott or Murray. That would not be fair to the 2021 second-rounder, who did not have a 1,000-yard season during his four seasons with the Denver Broncos.
But they believe Williams can be a difference maker in their backfield. In last week's 24-20 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he became the first Cowboys running back with two touchdowns in his Dallas debut in a non-strike season since Herschel Walker in 1986.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Williams finished with a modest 54 yards on 15 carries, but two of those carries were 1-yard scores. He had a long of 11 yards, carrying the pile to the Eagles 1 to set up his second touchdown.
"Dude runs hard," center Cooper Beebe said.
Said fullback Hunter Luepke, "He's an electric runner. He's a tough runner too. You saw a couple of those runs he was stopped maybe 2 yards and gets 6 more. You can't wish for anything better than that. He's a guy that runs hard, works hard. He's a really intelligent back, just talking with him learning the offense as quick as he has."
Dak Prescott has a nickname for Williams: Valedictorian-Tay.
How did Prescott know Williams was a valedictorian?
"Probably Google," Williams said. "I don't know."
If Prescott did Google Williams, then he would have seen he wasn't highly recruited either. At first, he wanted to play linebacker in college but was deemed too small. Wallace-Rose coach Kevin Motsinger moved Williams to running back full time as a senior and even though he had more than 2,000 yards rushing, there was still doubt.
Motsinger said all of the Ivy League schools wanted Williams with his grades. Coastal Carolina was the first Division 1 school to offer a scholarship.
"His thing was he wanted to go to [North] Carolina," Motsinger said, "and at one point he told me, 'Coach, if it doesn't work out, I'll go to Carolina and become a doctor.'"
North Carolina was like a lot of schools, concerned about Williams' size. Motsinger said even some Division 2 schools felt the same. But then the Class 2A state championship game was at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill. On the first play of the game, Williams ran 73 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 207 yards and two touchdowns. By that weekend, he was committed to the Tar Heels.
"When he first went to Carolina, he planned on being in medical school," Motsinger said. "I told him, 'My wife's a doctor and college football is a job. I'm not saying you can't do it and if anybody can do it it's you, but that's a lot.' I still remember the text: 'Coach, I just changed my major.'"
After three years, Williams had 2,297 rushing yards and scored 33 total touchdowns at North Carolina. He left school early and was selected No. 35 overall by the Denver Broncos in 2021. After a promising rookie year -- 903 yards rushing, 43 receptions, seven total touchdowns -- he suffered a torn ACL in the fourth game in 2022.
He played in 16 games in 2023 and, after Sean Payton took over as head coach, 11 more in 2024, including the playoff game. Following the knee injury, he has not averaged better than 3.7 yards per carry for a season.
His signing with the Cowboys brought little fanfare, but he quickly earned teammates' respect. Prescott noticed after every run Williams would carry the ball an extra 30, 40 yards.
"Just a true pro," Prescott said. "Another guy that, whether it be in the locker room or in meetings or on the field, doesn't say a lot, but is always doing the right thing and finishing the right way ... That guy is a smart running back."
There have been times on the field when Williams' smarts helped, almost like a geometry problem in understanding angles.
"I feel like 'football smart' is like common sense more than book smart," Williams said. "I feel like there's a difference between book smart and common sense. Some people can be book smart, but they don't have common sense."
Williams' attention to the other part of a running back's job impresses coach Brian Schottenheimer. He mentioned a block on the second play of the game and a blitz pickup.
"Playing without the ball, that shows more of your character," Williams said.
Back in North Carolina, Motsinger was unable to watch the Eagles game. There was a JV game to coach that night, but his sons, Ruger and Deacon, watched and told their father, "Pookie looks like his old self."
Motsinger uses Williams as an example to his current players with his work in the classroom, in the weight room and on the field.
"He stands out like the sun," Motsinger said. "I've done this 29 years, and there's kids that just stand out. They're just different. If he does something, he's going to do his best. That's the best way to put it."