Andre Williams Returns to The Heights
Looking back at the Boston College Eagles’ recent revival in football, it can all be traced back to Andre Williams’ 2013 season. With one of the most successful single seasons for a running back in college football history, Andre set school records, climbed up the record books of college football's elite and ultimately gave BC the their biggest gift: a ticket back to relevancy. The Eagles were a team that had been transformed into one of football's most consistent teams reaching 12 straight bowl games fueled by great offensive lines and tough defenses. The 2012 edition of the Eagles (which should be erased and burned from the history books altogether) crashed out at 2-10 with no real direction or identity for the team.
Enter Steve Addazio. Daz looked to bring a run heavy offense that was more in line with past BC teams. Under Coach Addazio, they played tough up front, moving the ball with efficiency. Andre Williams not only elevated his game under Addazio, he exploded. After running for 114 against a lesser opponent of Villanova, Williams reintroduced himself under the Friday night lights on the Heights that fall against Wake Forest (#therivalry) running for 204 yards and dominating the Deacons defense all night. It was this game where you could truly see the potential being fulfilled crushing defenders and dictating the offense all night long.
Big rushing outputs became the norm over the season. From a 149 yard effort against eventual National Champs FSU, to a 5 touchdown, 263 yard game against Army. It still hadn't reached the peak of what was to come for the Eagles running back. After missing the school record of 264 rushing yards in a game by a single yard, Williams would best it with a 295 yard performance on the road against New Mexico State. In what I believe was his signature game, Andre continued the trend of posting quarterback like stats, carrying the ball 42 times on senior day for 339 yards and two touchdowns. This win made the Eagles bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. Students storming the field in celebration was a fitting send off for Williams and his senior class and was the exclamation point for a turnaround season. Sitting at 6-3 BC and the fanbase was finally able to feel good about both themselves and Andre Williams as their face of the program.
Andre finished as the leading rusher in school history, finished fourth in Heisman Award voting, was the winner of the Doak Walker Award named for the top running back in the country, and would go on to be drafted by the New York Giants in the 4th round of the 2014 draft. BC was coming into that season with an identity crisis looking to wash off the stink that Spaz had left. The man to turn things around was none other than a former Spaz guy himself who had blossomed into one of the most formidable weapons college football has seen in recent years.
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That 2013 season had included the Red Sox winning the world series that fall, and I can remember attending the parade and hanging out in Quincy Market afterwards at a bar watching the second half of the Virginia Tech game. It might have been the boozed up Sox fans looking for any reason to cheer and shout, but it was a cool moment seeing the large crowd of bar dweller Bostonians shouting and high fiving when linebacker Kevin Pierre Louis intercepted the Hokie’s pass and returned it for a touchdown to secure a BC victory. That moment was where it really felt like BC football was back. The competitive Any Given Saturday Eagles were on the prowl to knock out a top ACC opponent and now people in the Boston area were taking notice once again. None of this would have happened had it not been for Andre William’s thunderous truck sticks, stiff arms and bulldozing runs. Not only had Andre made BC relevant again for the first time in a few years and made them a fun team to watch, but it has culminated 6 years later with Boston College still being a competitive team that boasts fun players to watch and good matchups with the ACC’s best.
Without Andre’s electric 2013 season, the program continues it decline but instead the exposure brought a more respectable outlook to it. After four out of the last five seasons resulting in seasons over .500, we finally have the opportunity to thank Andre 2k this afternoon at Alumni, and his return to be met with thunderous applause, just as his runs for the maroon and gold were.