Texas Football: 3 players who nearly stole Heisman from Ricky Williams in 1998

Looking back at the 1998 Heisman Trophy race, who almost took the honors from stud Texas football running back Ricky Williams?

Back during the 1998 college football season, the Texas football program was just attempting its rise to national prominence under the direction of then first-year head coach Mack Brown. In 1998, Brown was in his inaugural season as Texas head coach, coming off his run with the North Carolina Tar Heels. And Brown had a talented roster to make things work in his first year on the Forty Acres.

Most notable among his talented roster was former Texas superstar running back Ricky Williams. In the three previous years playing under John Mackovic as head coach, Williams found a lot of success. But his game and stat line were really taken to new heights under Brown’s watch.

The numbers that Williams posted during the 1998 season are pretty mind boggling to look back at. He registered nearly 2,400 total yards from scrimmage and 28 total touchdowns. Even though he had more than 360 rushing attempts in his senior season alone, Williams still held up and posted one of the all-time best seasons for a college running back.

To add to that, Williams averaged nearly six yards per carry. For his entire college career, he registered 1,096 touches for 7,206 yards, and 75 touchdowns. He’s got the most impressive career stat line likely of any running back in Texas program history.

On two separate occasions, Williams finished in the top five of the Heisman voting. He would come out on top of the final Heisman voting during the 1998 season as the first Texas player to do so since Earl Campbell.

Here’s a deeper look back at the three players that almost stole the Heisman Trophy from Williams of the Texas Longhorns football program in 1998.