Williams Earns Second All-America Honor
June 21, 1999 | Football
June 21, 1999
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech University tailback Ricky Williams earned his second preseason All-America honor of the season today when he was named to the Athlon Sports All-America first team. Williams was named to the Playboy magazine All-America team in May.
Williams, a 5-9, 190-pound junior from Duncanville, Texas, enters the 1999 season as the nation's second-leading returning rusher. He finished fourth in the nation last season with an average of 143.8 yards per game and was a semifinalist for the Dr Pepper Doak Walker Award. Williams was named a second-team All-America by Football News and was a consensus second-team All-Big 12 selection.
One of five team captains for 1999, Williams rushed for the third-most single-season yards in school history as a sophomore with 1,582 in 11 games. His 13 TDs last season ties for the third best in school history and he is currently sixth on the Texas Tech career rushing charts in just two seasons. In 1997 he surpassed Byron Hanspard's freshman rushing record and was named a second-team All-America by The Sporting News.