Best Texas football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore

Ricky Williams

It’s been a long time since Ricky Williams was running wild across Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, and a lot has happened, but that doesn’t take away just how good this player was in Texas. Williams played for the Longhorns from 1995-998.

We talk about records, and Williams held the best of them all. When he left college, he was the career rushing leader in NCAA history. Think about some of the greats; Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State, Hershel Walker at Georgia, two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin at Ohio State. Williams held the record over all of them. He finished his career at Texas with 6,279 yards.

In his senior year, Williams was great against Oklahoma, a theme for this list. He ran for 166 and two touchdowns. This was en route to a Heisman Trophy win, the first for Texas football since Earl Campbell in 1977. McCoy and Young came close, but Williams is the only modern-era player to win the most prestigious award in college sports.

Williams had a downright strange career in the NFL, but in college, he was one of the best running backs we’ve ever seen. He beat out Michael Bishop, Cade McNown and Tim Couch for the Heisman Trophy in 1998. On top of his eye-popping awards, he also scored 29 touchdowns in his senior season, his second straight season with at least 25 touchdowns.

Williams is one of the best running backs ever and he proved himself in college. There was a reason the New Orleans Saints gave up the farm to get him in the NFL Draft. Williams was one of the best to ever wear a Texas football uniform.

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