John L. Williams came to Gainesville as one of the greatest Florida high school football players of all time. He played fullback for Charley Pell's and Galen Hall's Florida Gators from 1982 to 1985 where he shared the backfield with tailback Neal Anderson behind the Great Wall of Florida and was part of the two best seasons of Gator football, the 9-1-1 seasons of 1984 and 1985. In those seasons, John L. was named 2nd team All SEC and honorable mention All American. He finished his career with 2477 rushing yards on 478 attempts (5.2 YPA) with 14 TDs, 863 yards receiving, and 156 yards in kick returns. He was the 15th overall pick of the 1986 NFL Draft (fellow Gator Neal Anderson was 27th) where he went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks from 1986 to 1993. He finished his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to 1995 alongside fellow Gator running back James Jones. He was admitted to the University of Florida Athletic Association (UAA) Hall of Fame as a Gator Great in 1997.