Javonte Williams.
Last seen running the football into the end zone in Chapel Hill during the 2020 season as a junior. The Wallace, North Carolina native has signed a one-year deal worth $3 million with the Dallas Cowboys.
The [NFL shared the news sourced from Tom Pelissero](https://x.com/NFL/status/1899238879150186594) on X (formerly Twitter).
The Cowboys finished this past NFL year with a record of 7-10, third place behind the Washington Commanders and Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer for Dallas had 26-year-old Rico Dowdle handle the starting duties at running back.
Dowdle finished the season recording 1,079 yards on 235 carries (his longest being a 27-yard run) with two touchdowns. And an additional two more touchdowns receiving the ball. On the other hand, Wililams joins his new team stringing together a campaign that saw him run for 513 yards on 139 carries. He accumulated four touchdowns in the process, too.
Unlike the Cowboys having a losing record when it was all said and done, the Broncos had a standing of 10-7 behind the Las Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. The situation Williams is stepping into is one where he can be piece of possible success for the Cowboys' organization.
The UNC football program has changed drastically ever since Williams played in Chapel Hill. For starters, his quarterback at the time was Sam Howell — now slinging the rock for the Seattle Seahawks.
His head coach was Mack Brown, and who would've ever thought back then that Bill Belichick, an elite coaching talent with jewelry to his name, would be leading the program.
It will be interesting to see how things shake up for Williams in his new situation. But it's nice to see that former UNC players are finding ways to be successful in the pros.
Now that it's Belichick's turn, maybe more NFL talent can come out of Chapel Hill.