The University of Akron Athletics
2008 Akron Football Roster
Bryan Williams
- Height:
- 5-11
- Weight:
- 200
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Akron, Ohio
- High School:
- Buchtel HS/Valley Forge (Pa.) Acad.
2008 Preseason second team All-American kick returner by Consensus Draft Services ... Unanimous first team preseason All-MAC as a kick returner ... Despite being tabbed third team All-MAC as a running back in 2007, moved to defense (strong safety) in the spring of 2008 ... Was highly-recruited as a defensive back coming out of high school but was forced to play running back in 2007 due to a lack of depth at the position (as well as the great depth on defense).
Junior (2007): Named third team All-Mid-American Conference both as a running back and return specialist ... Ranked second in the NCAA in kickoff return average and first in the MAC (31.90) ... His KOR average was additionally an Akron single-season record and ranked second on the MAC seasonal list (the record is 32.9 by Marshall’s James Williams in 1999) ... The first time he touched the ball  the opening kickoff versus Army  Williams returned the ball 70 yards, setting up a UA field goal for an early 3-0 lead ... Other big games as a kick returner included two returns of 117 yards versus Kent State, three for 105 yards at Connecticut and four for 151 yards versus Ohio ... In the win over the Bobcats, Williams returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown and was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week ... As a running back, he only had 728 yards on the season ... However, he had 612 of those yards in league play, averaging 4.9 yards per carry versus MAC opponents ... Although Western Michigan kicked away from Williams, the junior still had a big role in the Zips win, getting 72 yards on 14 rushes (5.1 avg.) and catching three passes for 74 yards with a 60-yard TD ... The following week, Williams broke the century mark for the first time, gaining 114 yards on 22 attempts versus Temple ... He capped the season with a career effort versus Central Michigan, gaining 145 yards on 18 attempts (8.1 avg.) thanks to TD runs of 61 and 56 yards ... Ended the season 10th in the MAC in rushing yards (60.67 per game) and seventh in all-purpose yards per game (133.50), which also ranked 49th in the NCAA ... Ranked second on the team with 22 receptions, thanks to a five-reception game at Buffalo ... Named Akron’s Most Valuable Offensive Back.
Prior to Akron: Spent two seasons at Valley Forge, playing both running back and defensive back ... at Buchtel HS: Selected to play for Ohio in the Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 Game as a senior ... Intercepted a pass to stop one scoring threat and then knocked away a fourth-down pass at the goal line with 55 seconds remaining to help Ohio hold on for a 34-28 victory over Pennsylvania ... Named first team All-Ohio ... Gained 1,831 yards 26 touchdowns as a senior ... Named first team Division III All-State as a running back ... Scout.com ranked him the 77th-best cornerback in the nation coming out of high school ... Earned all-league and second team All-Northeast Ohio honors as a junior ... Had 51 tackles and five interceptions and ran for 328 yards and 6 touchdowns during the 2003 campaign ... Also a track standout, has been timed in the 100 meters as fast as a 10.7.
RUSHING G/GS Att Yds TD Lg Avg/C Avg/G
2007 12/11 152 728 2 61 4.8 60.7
RECEIVING G/GS Rec Yds TD Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G
2007 12/11 22 204 1 60 1.8 9.3 17.0
KICK RET. G/GS No. Yds TD Lg Avg/R
2007 12/11 21 670 1 95 31.9
