Hokie back scores twice as Evans’ replacement
Ryan Williams had been waiting for this day. A day when he would make his first collegiate start at running back for Virginia Tech. That day came on Saturday at the Georgia Dome against No. 5 Alabama — in his first collegiate game, no less — after being redshirted the previous year.
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It was a dream scenario for the Manassas native. But that dream would darken into a nightmare.
On his first punt return attempt, Williams muffed the ball and allowed the Crimson Tide to recover deep in Hokie territory.
He trotted to the sidelines subdued.
“I was down a lot,” he said.
But soon after, defensive end Jason Worilds gave Williams words of encouragement, telling him, “Do you want to be good or do you want to be great?”
Williams heeded his teammate’s advice.
“I decided that I wanted to be great and had to start making some plays,” he said.
Shaking off the fumble, Williams finished the night with 113 all-purpose yards — 71 rushing on 13 carries — along with two touchdowns, accounting for a majority of Tech’s offense in the 34-24 loss. As a team, the Hokies had just 155 total yards. On Tuesday, Williams was named the ACC’s Rookie of the Week.
“He came back and made some big plays for us on offense,” head coach Frank Beamer said. “He is going to be a big positive factor on this football team as the year goes along.”
After the botched punt return, Williams was replaced by Jayron Hosley. This week, Williams decided to relinquish the spot full-time.
However, what he could provide the team is much more significant.
After losing Darren Evans for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, Tech was in need of someone to carry the rushing load.
One game in, it appears as if Williams can fill in just fine, especially after facing an Alabama defense that allowed just 2.7 yards per carry in 2008.
His talents and the knack of playing ahead of the curve are something that his former Stonewall Jackson High School head coach knows well.
“He had certain God-given abilities that not many high school players have,” Loren Johnson said. “He had abilities that not many elite players have. The way he carried himself was something that he’s worked on. His maturity is what I appreciated the most.”
