When Andre Williams rushed for 263 yards and five touchdowns against Army, not playing the last couple snaps of the game and finishing one yard short of the team’s single game rushing record, it seemed as though by some mistake he had missed his golden opportunity to make Boston College football history.
But then, Williams rushed for 172 yards at North Carolina, 166 against Virginia Tech, and 295 when the Eagles visited New Mexico State, cementing his spot in the BC record books as the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards in a single season, finishing the team’s 12 game schedule with a total of 2,102 after a 339 yard performance against NC State and 263 at Maryland. That number gave him the ninth best rushing season in the history of college football.
Even with a nod as a finalist for the Doak Walker award, which goes out to college football’s top running back, it became apparent that Williams was not finished making BC history.
On Monday evening, he was announced as one of six Heisman Trophy finalists. On Saturday, he will join Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Alabama’s AJ McCarron, Auburn’s Tre Mason, and Florida State’s Jameis Winston at a ceremony in New York City, where the winner of college football’s most prestigious award will be announced.
Four of the six finalists are quarterbacks, and Williams is the only member of a team that falls outside of the BCS top 25.
Throughout Williams’ Heisman campaign, head coach Steve Addazio has been adamant about how much he thinks his player deserves the award.
“Heisman mission statement,” he said. “‘Outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.’ I would say Andre Williams absolutely fits that.”
On Saturday night, we’ll see if the voters agree.
