Williams shines in Virginia Tech spring football game

BLACKSBURG -- Ryan Williams saw the look on his mother's face and knew he was back.

After taking a screen pass 56 yards for a touchdown on his first play in Virginia Tech's annual spring game yesterday at Lane Stadium, Williams spotted his mother, Sharon Johnson, sitting in the crowd.

She blew him a kiss. He blew one back.

"My mom hadn't really seen me play since my junior year of high school," said Williams, a 5-9, 205-pound redshirt freshman tailback.

"I always find her before the game, and I make sure every time I score that I point to her and everything. Just seeing her jumping and getting all excited and everything, it made me feel like I was back to being me, back to being Ryan Williams on the football field."

Williams didn't disappoint in his highly anticipated debut. He had 151 total yards and a touchdown on 12 touches (10 carries, two catches) in front of an estimated 41,000 fans.

He took a short screen pass from backup quarterback Ju-Ju Clayton (Hermitage High) on the Maroon team's first play, followed a couple of blocks by behemoth linemen Nick Becton and Greg Nosal and dashed the rest of the way for a touchdown.

"I always tell the offensive line . . . all you got to do is get me past the first level, and I'll make the rest of it happen," said Williams, who also had a 36-yard run.

If Williams is indeed as good as his play has indicated this spring -- in three full scrimmages, he rushed for 253 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns -- the Hokies could have quite the formidable one-two punch in the backfield.

Sophomore Darren Evans, who sat out the spring game with an injured left leg, rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns last year and will enter fall practice as Tech's No. 1 tailback. Williams appears to be the frontrunner for the No. 2 job.

While Evans is a powerful, straight-ahead runner that likes to knock defenders over, Williams is a jittery speedster that would rather avoid contact and slip past would-be tacklers.

"I think he's an explosive guy," Tech coach Frank Beamer said of Williams.

Williams redshirted last year and spent most of the season as the scout team tailback. Many of Tech's defensive players said he was the fastest running back they faced all year.

"With Ryan, you've always got to close the distance because at any given time, he can go either way, so I try to keep a good angle on him, because he's a very dynamic guy," cornerback Cris Hill said.

There may not have been a better scout team running back in the country last year. Williams recently chuckled at the thought.

"Every day I would make a play against the defense that they wouldn't expect and then coach [Torrian] Gray would be like, 'You're first-team scout team All-American,'" Williams said.

He did all his damage in yesterday's game, won 13-6 by the maroon team, with torn ligaments in his right index finger. He also has a sprained right ring finger.

The injuries occurred in Monday's practice during one-on-one drills when he rolled awkwardly over his hand during a tackle.

"[My hand is] killing me," he said after the game. "I just toughed it out."

He happily withstood the pain to get on the field and show Virginia Tech's fans what he's capable of.

"I hope that I proved that I deserve to be on the field somehow," he said. "That was fun."

Nathan Warters writes for