Dayne Williams, Now A Partner In A Consulting Firm, Always Will Be Remembered For His Part In The Puntrookskie Play.
August 02, 1997
By Alan Schmadtke, of The Sentinel Staff
Orlando Sentinel
TALLAHASSEE — Two images have clung to Dayne Williams since he pulled off his garnet and gold Florida State jersey nearly nine years ago.
First are the first-down and touchdown runs he made as a junior in 1987, when he popularized FSU's ''Wham'' play.
Then there's his part in the Seminoles' Puntrooskie - one of coach Bobby Bowden's most famous plays of deception.
In 1988, Williams was the blocking back on FSU's punt team, and he lined up that way late in the fourth quarter of a game the Seminoles were playing at Clemson with the score tied.
Except this time the ball never got to the punter. It was snapped to Williams, who caught it and handed it forward to up back LeRoy Butler. Butler ran 78 yards to Clemson's 1, setting up Richie Andrews' game-winning field goal.
Through the years, the play has grown into one of the defining calls of FSU coach Bobby Bowden's career. It earned Williams a place in Bowden's legacy.
''The greatest play since My Fair Lady,'' TV analyst Beano Cook said later. ''I go to booster meetings or whatever and that's what people always remember,'' Williams said. ''They remember that I was a short-yardage back who scored a lot of touchdowns, and they always bring up the Puntrookski.''
Today Williams, 31, is one of four partners running a three-month-old company in Orlando, Co-Advantage Resources, which consults to manage the nuts and bolts of small businesses.
He weighs two pounds less than his playing weight of 230 pounds but with his wife, Stephanie, shoulders his heaviest and happiest burden - their 18-month-old son, Garrett.
He is a member of Seminole Boosters Inc., buys season tickets and attends two or three home games a season.
The program he follows comes from what the 1987 season built. The Seminoles have finished in the top four of the final Associated Press poll a record 10 years running.
Williams came out of Leesburg High School as a mildly recruited player with high ambitions. He turned down scholarships at smaller schools to walk on as a baseball player at South Florida Community College in Avon Park.
After one semester, he knew baseball wasn't his first love. Football was. He transferred to Florida State, where he walked on.
He was switched from safety to fullback, and attrition had him competing for a starting job. His first start came on national television at Nebraska.
Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden put him on scholarship as a sophomore, and in that 1986 season, Williams started four games at fullback. He was a full-time starter the next two seasons, later becoming something of an answer to a trivia question.
Williams's consistency and proficiency at fullback dives kept him ahead of Marion Butts on the depth chart.
With a third tight end inserted into the backfield, FSU turned to Williams to run the ''Wham'' or ''Wham Option.''
''To me, the whole experience was just very memorable,'' Williams said. ''The camaraderie I built with my friends, guys like Stan Shiver and Phil Carrado, those are friendships I'll take to my grave.
''I think I came through at the perfect time because we had some average years and some great years. We had a great time. Guys now are expected to be that good and they are. But I think the teams during my years were the first ones to have those kind of expectations, and we made those.''
Resources
http://www.leesburgyellowjacketsfootball.com/
http://www.myebooksresell.com/
