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Sunday, November 29, 1998
Ricky Williams takes a big step toward Heisman
Trophy
By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press
AUSTIN -- Now that Ricky Williams owns one of college football's
greatest individual records, is the Heisman Trophy next?
Already considered the Heisman favorite, the Texas tailback
enhanced his position with 259 yards rushing in Friday's 26-24
win over Texas A&M in a nationally televised game.
Longhorns coach Mack Brown said it would be hard to deny the
award to the leading rusher in NCAA Division I-A history.
"Hopefully voters saw things today," Brown said after
the game. "I've never seen a better performance from Ricky
than I did today."
Williams' brightest moment of the game and biggest boost for
the Heisman came in the first quarter.
Needing 11 yards to break Tony Dorsett's career rushing record,
Williams ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run in which he broke
a tackle near the line of scrimmage and carried an A&M defensive
back into the end zone.
"That's a run I'll remember for the rest of my life,"
Brown said.
Williams finished the game with 6,279 career yards, surpassing
Dorsett's mark of 6,082 set at Pittsburgh from 1973-76.
Several previous Heisman winners were at the game Friday to
congratulate Williams. Dorsett, Texas' Earl Campbell and Texas
A&M's John David Crow all made their way to the sideline for
Williams' memorable run.
"It's special to me that those guys were on the sideline
to watch me play," Williams said.
Williams has broken national and school records held by Dorsett,
Campbell and Ohio State's Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman
winner.
Williams would be Texas' first Heisman winner since Campbell
in 1977.
One player who could stand in Williams' way is Kansas State
quarterback Michael Bishop, who has led the Wildcats to a No.
2 ranking and a berth in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 5.
Two weeks ago, half of the Big 12 coaches said Bishop should get
serious consideration for league offensive MVP. The idea didn't
go over well with Brown.
"Anybody who saw Ricky today would know he's the most
valuable player in the Big 12 Conference," Brown said.
Bishop has been hurt by a lack of national exposure after Kansas
State coach Bill Snyder imposed a media ban on him for several
weeks. Williams, meanwhile, has met with the media every week
and his smile and dreadlocks have consistently appeared in newspapers,
magazines and on television.
Williams said he won't think about the Heisman until after
final exams this week. And he said he hasn't given much thought
to his place in college football history.
"Hopefully I'll be considered one of the best," he
said.
Surely he will be. He owns 16 NCAA records. Along with the
rushing record, Williams' marks include touchdowns (75), points
(452) and all-purpose yards (7,206).
Williams surprisingly returned for his senior season after
leading the nation in rushing in 1997.
Part of his decision to stay was to help the Longhorns' transition
to Brown, who came to Texas from North Carolina. But he also knew
the Heisman Trophy was a possibility and Dorsett's milestone was
in reach.
And so far he has answered all the questions that came up when
the season started.
Could the Heisman winner come from a losing team? Texas was
4-7 last year, but rebounded behind Williams to finish 8-3 this
year. The Longhorns came up one game short of playing for the
Big 12 championship.
Could Williams break Dorsett's record when defenses would be
stacked up to stop him? Williams' 2,124 yards this season are
the fifth-highest single-season mark. He also set the record for
average yards per carry, 6.22.
His only subpar game this season came against Kansas State,
which held him to 43 yards on 25 carries.
Among the opponents who think Williams deserves the Heisman
is Texas A&M strong safety Rich Coady. In four career games
against Texas A&M, Williams averaged 212 yards.
"He's got my vote for the Heisman Trophy," Coady
said. "He's the best running back in the country and well-deserving
of all the praise he's been given."
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