Advertisement

Minnesota RB Rodrick Williams Jr. takes his lizard for walks

Rodrick Williams has a leash and a harness for his lizard so he can take it on a walk.

Yes, that sentence is true.

The Minnesota running back has a savannah monitor, which is a two-foot lizard. The lizard is named Kilgharrah from the dragon on Merlin. And as you can guess, the nickname for the lizard is the same as his coach's last name. So Minnesota coach Jerry Kill has given Williams a nickname too.

From ESPN:

Williams has shown pictures and videos of his pet to its namesake, Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill. After laughing, Kill --the coach, not the pet -- began referring to Williams as "Lizard Boy." It's an appropriate nickname, as Williams used to bring all sorts of amphibians and reptiles into his house while growing up in Lewisville, Texas, much to his parents' chagrin.

The lizard lives in a 75-gallon cage in Williams' apartment and his girlfriend doesn't let him bring roaches in to feed Kill. The monitor, now 10-months-old, could grow to be five feet long and Williams got it because his apartment complex doesn't allow dogs

"When he gets big enough, I'll probably give him his own corner of the house, or build him a cage," Williams said.

Side note: Do you have to pick up after a lizard if it does its thing outside while you're walking it like a dog?

Williams is being counted on to help replace the production of David Cobb, who led the Gophers in rushing in 2014. Cobb ran for 1,626 yards as a senior in 2014, a school record. Williams lost 20 pounds over the spring to help prepare himself to attempt to duplicate Cobb's efforts.

And Lizard Boy is not the first weird nickname he's had at Minnesota. He apparently earned the nickname of "Nugget" after he ate 50 chicken nuggets at McDonald's while on his recruiting visit to Minnesota.

So we're inclined to completely believe Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner's assessment of the Lizard Boy nickname.

"It’s kind of fitting for him," Leidner told ESPN. "It's not too much of a surprise if you know how goofy he is."

For more Minnesota news, visit GophersIllustrated.com.

- - - - - - -

Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!