Smash Williams
Brian "Smash" Williams is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV(The 101 Network) drama television series Friday Night Lights portrayed by actor Gaius Charles. He is the starting running back of the Dillon High School Panthers. Considered the most talented player on the roster after quarterback Jason Street, Smash received his nickname from his father after hitting a water heater. Smash is believed to be based on Boobie Miles from the Friday Night Lights book and film.
Williams is shown to be a jock in the beginning of the show. He starts a feud with fullback Tim Riggins, after almost having sex with Riggins' girlfriend Tyra Collette. After being caught taking performance-enhancing drugs, Smash begins a more mature approach to life, taking QB Matt Saracen under his wing, building a friendship with Riggins and leading the team after the devastating injury on Jason Street.
Characterization and background
Brian "Smash" Williams was born in Gatling, Texas – a fictional version of a typical African-American crime-ridden ghetto – presumably in the late 1980s to Michael and Corinna Williams. He grew up there before moving away to Dillon, Texas because his mother wanted him and his two sisters away from their father. A few years later, in 1999, Michael Williams was killed in a car accident with a woman while still married.