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Ricky Williams

Running Back

Inducted 2015

Date of Birth

5/21/1977

Birthplace

San Diego, CA

School

University of Texas (1995-1998)

Bio

Ending his career as the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher with 6,279 yards, Ricky Williams took home the Heisman Trophy in 1998 following his All-America career at Texas. A unanimous First Team All-America his junior and senior seasons, Williams took home the 1998 Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, and he was the first-ever two-time recipient of the Doak Walker Award. The two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year won back-to-back NCAA rushing titles in 1997 and 1998, and he set 21 NCAA records, including all-purpose yards (7,206) and rushing touchdowns (72). A three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection, Williams led Texas to the 1995 Southwest Conference championship and the 1996 Big 12 title. He led the Longhorns to three bowl berths, earning MVP honors in the 1999 Cotton Bowl, and he finished his Texas career with 46 school records. When inducted, Williams was one of only three Longhorns to post three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and set school records for carries (1,011), yards (6,279), yards per game (136.5) and rushing touchdowns (72) during his career. The 1998 AP and Sporting News Player of the Year, Williams was a member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll and the 1998 AFCA Good Works Team. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, Williams would go on to spend eleven seasons in the NFL with the Saints, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens and one season with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. The San Diego native went to the Pro Bowl in 2002, and he set the Dolphins’ record for most 100-yard rushing games in team history with 24. Williams has served as an analyst on the Longhorn Network. A 2013 inductee into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, he is a member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor and just had his jersey retired by the university.