Ricky Williams Has Championship Expectations for Longhorns: 'We've Been Waiting!'

"I think this is the year," legendary Texas Longhorns running back Ricky Williams said of expectations this fall for football season on the Forty Acres.

Texas Longhorns legend Ricky Williams has proven he knows what it takes to be great on the Forty Acres. But he's expecting the 2023 Longhorns to be even better and accomplish something that he was unable to do in college: win a national championship.

While it's taken some patience over the past decade, reaching or at least coming near a championship level is the annual goal for a Texas program that has had its fair share of struggles. But Williams thinks it's finally time for the Longhorns to turn the corner.

"I think it has to be," Williams told 247Sports. "For Texas fans, we’ve been waiting, waiting and waiting. Sark has had enough time to get comfortable and find his players. I think this is the year."

The Longhorns certainly made a big step in Sark's second year this past season, but an 8-5 record hardly fits the billing in Austin. Still, all five of Texas' losses were one-score finishes, showing that the team is right on the cusp. One of these losses was a crushing 20-19 defeat to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the second game of the season. Williams felt that contest was a turning point for the Longhorns in making them feel like they belonged.

"I think the confidence Texas built in the Bama game is real," Williams said. "I think they can take that and turn it into something special."

Williams also looks to Texas' talented quarterback room of Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning as a reason for expected success.

"We keep saying that, but I really like Sark and the way players really respond to him," he said. :He’s great with quarterbacks, and he’s got a couple of good ones right now."

One of the best players in Texas football history is setting the expectations. Now, the Longhorns will have to step up to the plate while simultaneously ignoring the nationwide doubt that will also be placed on them.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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