A four-star recruit according to the 247Sports Composite, Stanley "Boom" Williams quickly silenced any talk of a possible redshirt season during his first preseason camp at Kentucky, though offensive coordinator Neal Brown declined to call him "Boom" until he earned the name on the field. In his second collegiate game, Williams scored on a 53-yard touchdown run. He briefly gave Kentucky the lead in overtime vs. Florida with a highlight-reel 25-yard touchdown catch-and-run in which he cut back across the entire width of the field. After the game, Brown finally acknowledged Williams had earned his "Boom" nickname. Williams led Kentucky in rushing yards (488), all-purpose yards (1,161) and total touchdowns (six) as a freshman with three 100-yard rushing performances.
