Ranking the 10 best small school college football RBs of all time
By Zach Bigalke
Back in the early 2000s, DeAngelo Williams deconstructed Conference USA defenses and helped lead Memphis to several big upsets. He starred in upsets of Ole Miss in 2003 and 2004, and helped lead Memphis back to relevance after two decades of futility. Even as a freshman his 684 yards led the team in rushing.
Williams really came onto the scene as a sophomore when he gashed the Rebels for 166 total yards and three scores. With over 1,800 yards rushing and receiving, Williams led the nation in yards from scrimmage. He replicated the feat in 2004 as a junior, rushing for 1,948 yards and adding another 210 receiving yards to go with 23 total touchdowns.
As a senior, Williams focused primarily on the ground game. He led all running backs in 2005 with 1964 rushing yards, though he finished only fourth in yards from scrimmage. Williams was drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers at the 2006 NFL Draft. Now with Pittsburgh, Williams has put in 11 years in the NFL. Over that time, he has racked up over 10,000 yards from scrimmage and 70 touchdowns.