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 . College career . 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 .