Why RB Trey Williams Is An Intriguing Fit For The Maulers
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Why RB Trey Williams Is An Intriguing Fit For The Maulers

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Spring football veteran, running back Trey Williams, is likely in need of a new home. Williams has played for the New Jersey Generals for the past two USFL seasons, but it appears that the plan is to move onto another organization in 2024, wherever that may be.

There is a potential suitor, who just so happened to play in the same hub this year: the Pittsburgh Maulers.

Trey Williams could be an excellent fit for the Pittsburgh Maulers, for a plethora of reasons. Their scheme desperately needs the addition of an explosive threat in the backfield, such as Trey.

Let’s take a look at where Pittsburgh is currently positioned in this area, and what Williams can bring to the team if signed.

Pittsburgh’s Rushing Struggles

Currently, the Pittsburgh Maulers have three running backs on their roster:

Duane Gary
Garrett Groshek
Madre London

The two featured backs are London and Groshek, who took the majority of snaps for the Maulers in 2023. Gary was inactive for part of the season, only playing in four games. In his limited action, Gary performed well – rushing for 67 yards and averaging 5.1 YPC.

However, Pittsburgh’s overall game plan revolves around Garrett Groshek and Madre London. The two backs have been with the team since 2022, seeing similar results through two seasons.

In 2022, London and Groshek performed respectively well:

Garrett Groshek – 108 carries, 329 yards, 3.0 YPC, 1 TD
Madre London – 96 carries, 415 yards, 4.3 TPC, 1 TD

The 2022 USFL season as a whole was quite trying for Pittsburgh. They finished with a 1-9 record, dead last in the North Division.

2023 Pitfalls

In 2023, Pittsburgh shocked mostly everyone with a Championship run. Despite a 4-6 record, they won the North Division, ultimately appearing in the USFL Championship against Birmingham.

While the Maulers took major strides forward in multiple areas, one factor was far from ideal: their backfield.

Both Groshek and London saw a dip in production, beginning with total carries. Groshek only had 77 rushing attempts in the 2023 season, while London had 66.

Of course, their numbers were down due to less attention. However, their rushing averages were lower across the board. Groshek posted only 209 rushing yards, averaging 2.7 YPC. Meanwhile, London wasn’t much better, with 254 yards, averaging 3.8 YPC. The duo combined for just two touchdowns in 2023.

Interestingly enough, Pittsburgh was 4th in the USFL this year averaging 98.9 rushing yards per game. Most of this production came from QB Troy Williams, who led the Maulers with 341 yards on the ground, averaging 5.7 YPC. In addition, he scored three rushing touchdowns.

Take away Troy’s numbers, and the Pittsburgh Maulers ground game was quite weak. There are a couple of factors that played into this:

1) Pittsburgh’s Offensive Line – Throughout the year, Pittsburgh dealt with inconsistent play from their line. This was partially due to injuries. A couple of late additions in Terry Poole and Leon Johnson helped down the stretch.

2) Similar Styles – Both London and Groshek are downhill backs. They have nearly identical games, with neither featuring much shiftiness or explosiveness. Their job is to wear down defenses, which is something they both do efficiently.

Trey Williams: The Missing Piece?

This is exactly where Trey Williams fits in. Williams is one of spring football’s most underrated running backs. Despite being with three different organizations in three leagues, he’s consistently put up outstanding numbers.

His spring career began in the Alliance Of American Football, playing for Mike Riley’s San Antonio Commanders. There, he ran for 205 yards and a touchdown in eight games, averaging 5.1 YPC.

Williams then moved onto the XFL in 2020, with the Seattle Dragons. This was arguably his worst year in spring football, where he still rushed for a respectable 122 yards and a touchdown in five games, averaging 3.6 YPC.

Trey Williams then reunited with Head Coach Mike Riley in the USFL, with the New Jersey Generals. During the 2022 season, Williams was electrifying, rushing for 579 yards (2nd in the league) on 118 carries. He averaged 4.9 YPC, and scored two touchdowns.

One of his major highlights came in week ten against the Philadelphia Stars, where Williams ripped off a 61 yard touchdown run in the win.

However, the 2023 season didn’t go entirely as planned for Trey. For whatever reason, New Jersey stifled his production, only allowing for 35 carries. Additionally, Williams was a healthy scratch in three games – including a win or go home outing in week ten.

On the surface level, this makes zero sense. Williams was a top three RB in the USFL’s inaugural season. When he was given the ball this year, he excelled. Trey rushed for 205 yards on just 35 carries – averaging 5.8 YPC. He also played a key role in a week nine win against Philadelphia.

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Despite this, New Jersey underutilized one of the USFL’s top running backs, which certainly played a part in their 3-7 record. Instability on offense hampered the 2023 season, and one has to wonder why certain questionable decisions were made by the Generals coaching staff throughout the year from an offensive perspective.

Moving On

Clearly, it seems like Williams is ready to move onto new ventures. He was upset – and rightfully so – about being inactive during the final game of the year.

At the same time, the New Jersey Generals have made it evident that they’re planning to move on from Williams. As of right now, they have re-signed running backs Darius Victor and Kingston Davis, while also acquiring rookie RB Jalen Holston.

Davis could be seen as Williams’ replacement, as he took some of Trey’s minutes down the stretch of the 2022 season.

Now, Trey Williams is at a crossroads. If the New Jersey Generals do come calling, it likely isn’t worth re-signing with a team that gave him the short end of the stick despite his talents.

Williams also expressed his desire to play for another squad in future seasons, having made a couple of posts on social media platforms recently regarding the topic. Hypothetically, if he were to join Pittsburgh, he’d be able to play New Jersey twice a year.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, the Pittsburgh Maulers seem like a logical fit for Trey Williams to go. Whether or not Pittsburgh’s front office wants to sign a fourth running back is another story. However, given Williams’ prior success in the USFL, it would make sense to at least give Trey some consideration.

To be blatantly honest, Pittsburgh can’t head into 2024 with the same backfield. In 2023, it was simply too stagnant. Pittsburgh needs another playmaker to take some of the pressure off of Troy Williams – and Trey could provide the organization with exactly that.

Allowing Trey to take carries on first and second down would open up a lot of options for their offense. London and/or Groshek could remain for third down situations, alongside red-zone opportunities.

Players on two year deals – such as Trey – will become available to other teams on October 1st, as their contracts expire on September 30th.

What are your thoughts on Trey Williams in Pittsburgh? Are there other USFL teams who should pursue the team when he becomes available? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!

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James Larsen
James Larsen
Growing up, football was one of the few things that brought me joy. It's always played a major role in my life, and continues to do so. As I've delved into sports reporting/writing, spring football has become my passion. Covering the XFL & USFL is a dream come true, and I look forward to plenty of excellent seasons in the years to come.
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2 Comments

  1. Hi James, you know I respect your game a great deal, but it seems you are taking sides here. I don’t know of a head coach that wants to do bad by his team. You may want to think about the possibility that maybe Williams was splitting the team. Anyone that puts on Instagram that he can’t wait to run against his current team is clearly trying to put his own agenda out there. If he is upset playing second fiddle to Victor it is quite possible he had some things to say. This is an underlying problem of having a QB that does not move the chains. I look forward to having a QB that can do that in 2024. It is when you are. ot getting your touches is when you find out how good your soldiers are. I like Trey Williams and wish him well, but football is a game built on trust. Stevie Scott and not Reggie Corbin got signed by the NFL. I think that largely is due to Reggie Corbn making a phone call. I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Trey questioned his carries. Darius Victor only averaged like 11 carries a game. When you cannot move the chains, you lose carries. Plus maybe you have to knock the USFL. They sped up the clock even more and now have 14 less plays on average again as compared to the NFL, so you are complaining about everything, but you are carefully omitting other key factors. You are too good to write this story. Connect the dots.

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  2. To follow up, the Generals had 597 plays in 2022 and 484 in 2023 plus the Generals QB had the lowest completion percentage on the Generals and the lowest of any starting QB in the league. As Riley tried to have Trey get the ball in 2022, you may want to ask yourself what the changes are. Could Trey Williams being north of 30 have anything to do with this. It very well might and he might deserve a start somewhere else, but to make someone the villain when you don’t know the full story is not a good stance to take.

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