Arkansas RB Rawleigh Williams retires after second neck injury

— -- Arkansas' Rawleigh Williams III, who was second among SEC running backs last season with 1,360 rushing yards, has decided to give up football after suffering a second neck injury.

Williams, who would have been a junior next season. announced his decision in a heartfelt letter on Arkansas' official website. His letter was titled "Next Chapter" and comes on the heels of a neck injury he suffered during the Hogs' final spring scrimmage last month. Williams had to be carted off the field and taken to the hospital.

"I've seen the replay. I saw a normal hit. That scared me," Williams wrote in his letter. ?"It shows me it doesn't take a big hit at this point. Any little thing can trigger it. I also saw the reaction of my mom and my sister. That broke my heart. I can't do this anymore. I want to be able to walk."

As a freshman in 2015, Williams suffered the first neck injury in a game against Auburn and underwent surgery to fuse a disk in his neck.

"I'm moving onto the next chapter of my life," Williams wrote. "It's tough to not be able to play football anymore because I've been playing since I was four years old. It wasn't something I wanted to do or planned on having to do so early. I've prayed, listened to my doctors, my parents and my gut.

"It still doesn't seem real yet, but I really don't have a choice. I've dodged the bullet twice. I realize at the end of the day I want to live a normal life and be around my family."

Williams and his family met with doctors and Arkansas coach Bret Bielema last week before Williams made his final decision to walk away from football.

"Coach B [Bielema] has been someone I've looked up to since the day I met him," Williams wrote. "He's always been there for me. I'm grateful to him for the opportunity to play football at the University of Arkansas and in front of the best fans in college football. I'm grateful for the opportunities I'm going to earn during the rest of my time here. I can't wait to work under him and learn. I want to be a general manager one day, and he's already helped me look into career paths to achieve my goals."

"At Arkansas, not only does he have All-SEC academic success, but he also steps away as the reigning SEC regular season rushing leader," Bielema said in a news release. "This next chapter in Rawleigh's life will be filled with unlimited success in any career path or anyway of life he chooses. As a head coach I couldn't be more excited to begin the next chapter with him and be there for him."