Andre Williams (American football)

Andre Rishard Williams (born August 28, 1992) is an American football running back. He played college football at Boston College. He was a finalist for the 2013 Heisman Trophy and won the 2013 Doak Walker Award as the nation's best runningback. During the 2013 season, Williams became only the 16th player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards and he finished his college career ranked 5th all-time for most yards rushed in a single season with 2,177 yards.

Early years
Williams attended Parkland High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. As a senior, he had 1,913 rushing yards on 128 carries and 33 touchdowns. He earned All-State Class AAAA first-team honors as a senior running back, and was selected as The Morning Call Player of the Year. He led the Trojans to a 10-3 record in 2009.

Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 44th best running back prospect in the nation. He committed to Boston College over offers from Temple, Akron and Vanderbilt.

Freshman season
Williams' first three years at Boston College were relatively uneventful. Playing as a true freshman in 2010, Williams showed his potential, playing in all 13 games, rushing for 461 yards on 95 carries with two touchdowns. In the final regular season game of the year, playing at Syracuse, he set the school record for rushing attempts in a game, running 42 times as the Eagles beat the Orange 16-7.

Sophomore season
As a sophomore in 2011, he continued to improve, but played less time, starting seven of 10 games and rushing for 517 yards on 124 carries with four touchdowns.

Junior season
As a junior in 2012, he continued to be a reliable option, although for a pass-heavy offense, starting eight of nine games, rushing for 584 yards on 130 carries and four touchdowns. His efforts were mostly in vain though, as the Eagles continued to progressively get worse, winning 7 games in 2010, 4 in 2011, and only 2 in 2012. His three years of experience, however would pave the way for his breakout senior year and a turnaround for the Eagles team.

Senior season
With a change in coaching during the offseason, Steve Addazio brought in new coordinators and a new style of offense, focused heavily on the run. Williams started off the year as an potent weapon, running for 114 and 204 yards against Villanova and Wake Forest, respectively, scoring once in each game, as the Eagles matched their win total from the previous season. He had a lackluster performance against a potent USC defense, only managing 38 yards, his worst performance of the season. However, he bounced back against #8 ranked Florida State and ran for 149 yards as the Eagles nearly upset the best team in the ACC. The next week he exploded offensively, scoring 5 touchdowns and coming within 1 yard of breaking the school's single game rushing record, running 263 yards against Army on Homecoming. He had momentarily tied the record, but unfortunately lost a yard on his last rushing attempt of the game. After a moderate showing at Clemson, only running 70 yards, he gave two solid performances against UNC and Virginia Tech, rushing for 172 and 166 yards, respectively, scoring three times in those two games. The next week at New Mexico State, Williams managed to break the single game record that he came so close to during the Army game, running for 295 yards and two scores. The win was the first road win for BC since 2011 and put the Eagles in a position to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. On the following week, playing on senior day, BC's final home game of the season against NC State, Williams broke his own record set seven days earlier and ran for 339 yards on 42 carries, scoring twice. The performance also surpassed the ACC record, previously set at 329 yards by John Leach of Wake Forest in 1993. During the game, he also broke the school's single season record for rushing yards, finishing the day with 1,810 yards during his four years at Boston College. The win made BC bowl eligible for the first time since 2010, and tripled the previous year's win total, prompting the students and fans to rush the field and celebrate with the team following the win. Williams' performance was recognized by media across the country, as he was named the Walter Camp National player of the week, as well as ACC offensive back of the week. His successes and stats as the league's leading rusher entered him as the frontrunner for the Doak Walker award as the nation's best runningback. After the success against NC State at home, the Eagles took on Maryland for the first of their final two road games of the season. Andre Williams had another big day, running for 263 yards and two scores, passing 2,000 yards and becoming only the 16th player in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. With this achievement, Williams has entered into the Heisman conversation, being such a dominant and integral part of the Boston College team. With the sudden Heisman hype, Williams and the Eagles left to finish the regular season at 5–6 Syracuse, with a chance to shut them out of bowl-eligibility. However, that was not to be so, as Williams reinvigorated his right shoulder injury he had been dealing with since playing UNC, and left early in the 3rd quarter and did not return, having only ran 29 yards for the day. The Eagles would take a 31–27 advantage with 2 minutes remaining, but Syracuse lead a comeback drive, scoring a touchdown with 6 seconds remaining to seal a 34–31 victory for the Orange and the ACC's record 11th bowl-eligible team. The loss was a disheartening one for Williams and the Eagles, as they were looking to finish the impressive turnaround season at a very respectable 8–4 and a chance to avenge the 2004 Eagles team that was shut out of a BCS Bowl bid by Syracuse. However, 7–5 still reflected the tremendous accomplishments of the season, and William's Heisman hopes were kept alive, as the 29 yards gained put him above the 2,100 yard plateau and placed him at 9th all time in the FBS single-season record books. The Eagles final game of the season was in the 2013 Independence Bowl against the Arizona Wildcats. The game featured a matchup between the nation's two best running backs in Williams and Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey, who was a consensus All-American in 2012 as well as a finalist for the 2013 Doak Walker award, which Williams won. The game was a blowout win for Arizona, as they cruised to a 42–19 victory. Williams ran for 75 yards in his final contest as a college back, finishing with 2,177 yards on the season, good for 5th most all-time in the NCAA.

Postseason Awards
Williams was one of six finalists for the Heisman Trophy, and finished fourth in the voting. He was the winner of the 2013 Doak Walker Award and was named a unanimous All-American. In addition, he was a unanimous first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection and was also a finalist for the Walter Camp Award.