Ricky Williams Runs for National Honors
June 21, 1999 | Football
May 10, 1999
LUBBOCK, Texas - It was a beautiful autumn evening in Austin, Texas, in 1997 and the stage was set for critically acclaimed Texas running back Ricky Williams to rip through the Texas Tech Red Raiders and help the Longhorns keep hope alive for a winning campaign. As it turned out, Williams was out rushed 131 yards to 80 by Ricky Williams, Tech's 5-foot-7 inch, 182 pound tailback, and the Raiders followed his lead to a 24-10 victory.
Reset. It was a beautiful autumn evening in Lubbock, Texas in 1998 and eventual Heisman winner Ricky Williams needed just over 200 yards to become the NCAA's all-time career rushing yards record holder. Once again, however, Ricky Williams of Texas Tech out gained Texas' Williams, 148 yards to 141, and led the Raiders to a win, 42-35.
For two years, Williams has played in the shadow of a University of Texas legend and, when given the chance, he has proved himself to be on the level. But before Williams could become one of the Big 12's elite rushers, he had to establish himself at Tech.
In 1997, the Red Raiders were looking for a replacement for Doak Walker winner and 2,000 yard rusher Byron Hanspard. Before Williams spent his first day as a student on the Tech campus, he beat out the rest of the running back prospects in two-a-days to start in the Raiders opener versus Tennessee. In the last two seasons, Williams has been the starting tailback in every game Tech has played, piling up 2,476 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.
Going into the 1999 season, the credentials that the Tech tailback has established in his first two seasons make him one of the country's premiere ball carriers. Texas Tech announced on May 3, that Williams was chosen to the Playboy Magazine preseason All-America team.
In addition to daily workouts during the spring, it became a regular occurence for Williams to be conned by the Media Relations office to do interviews with national media outlets. The attention he received, Williams said, increased his desire to produce on the field.
"When people say things like you have a chance to win the Heisman, it is a great inspiriation for me," Williams said. "I have a lot of good things to take from all the interviews. They're things that I think about every day to motivate me.
To most observers, Williams appears to be the latest in Texas Tech's series of high profile runningbacks that include NFL runningbacks Hanspard and Bam Morris. Williams has surpassed Hanspard's and Morris's totals for rushing yards in their first two seasons at Texas Tech, but he will have to turn it up a notch in his third season to stay on pace as Hanspard and Morris each had breakout seasons in their third year at Tech.
"We are three different types of runners, so it is hard to compare myself with them," Williams said. "I do expect to pick it up. I do expect to have a breakaway season, but I can't predict the future. I am going to work hard and do the best I can, the same things I have been doing since the day I came to Texas Tech."
Anticipation that Williams will be up to the challenge in the upcoming season has prompted the Texas Tech Athletic Media Relations department to go ahead with a Heisman campaign, which includes a Ricky Williams website. Williams' web page, which can be linked through Tech's official athletic website at www.texastech.com, offers viewers a look at the Raider junior's bio, quotes from Texas Tech Coach Spike Dykes and a five-minute video clip of 1998 highlights.
Adding to the Texas Tech ground attack in 1999 will be the return of fullback Sammy Morris. Morris burst on the scene three seasons ago when he rushed 29 times for 226 yard and caught 13 passes for 221 yards in eight games as a freshman. Morris solidified himself as a dangerous offensive weapon by making an 81-yard touchdown catch-and-run to defeat Texas A&M in College Station. But off-the-field problems with academic eligibility took Morris out of the Raider lineup immediately following the glory of the victory over the Aggies.
Since the 1996 season, speculation about Morris return has amounted to little more than rumors and hopes of Raider fans. All along, Morris has been touted as perhaps the best natural athlete on the Texas Tech football squad and possibly one of the top fullbacks in the country. He will be eligible for the beginning of this football season and Williams and the Texas Tech offense expect to reap the benefits.
"Sammy is going to help us out a lot," Williams said. "He is a fullback, but I think you have to consider him a fullback-slash-tailback. He is going to open things up for me and I am going to open things up for him."