Four Hokies gain first-team honors

Posted to: College Football Sports

The Roanoke Times
© December 1, 2009

After running for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns in his team's 42-13 romp at Virginia last Saturday, Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams exhaled and said: "I think I've done the unexpected."

No kidding.

Williams, who inherited the Hokies' starting tailback job in mid-August when incumbent Darren Evans went down with a season-ending torn ACL, became the first Tech freshman to be named first-team All-ACC.

Williams, whose 1,538 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns lead the ACC, was 1 of 4 Hokies earning first-team accolades Monday. Three Tech seniors - linebacker Cody Grimm, punter Brent Bowden and placekicker Matt Waldron - also made the squad.

Williams needs 110 yards in Tech's bowl game to break Kevin Jones' single-season school rushing record of 1,647 yards set in 2003. His 19 rushing TDs are tied for the most in ACC history.

Williams is the first Tech player since quarterback Michael Vick (1999, Big East) to earn first-team all-league honors as a freshman.

"I really don't try to set any goals," Williams said. "My main goal was to do my best to try and help the team win.

"And I think I did that very well. That's the only thing I really wanted. Yardage, touchdowns, ACC teams, none of that really mattered to me."

Grimm, who went to Tech as a walk-on before earning a scholarship, has a team-high 99 tackles. His seven forced fumbles this season top the country.

Bowden's 43.9-yard punting average leads the ACC. Waldron, in his only season as Tech's No. 1 kicker, has made 17 of 20 field goal attempts this season.

Senior defensive tackle Nate Collins was Virginia's only representative on the first team.

Coastal Division champion Georgia Tech led the league with six first-team selections in balloting from 40 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Miami and North Carolina each had four players on the first team.

Six Hokies were named to the second team, including senior tight end Greg Boone (Oscar Smith), senior offensive tackle Ed Wang, senior left guard Sergio Render, junior defensive end Jason Worilds, and senior safety Kam Chancellor (Maury).

Junior cornerback Ras-I Dowling (Deep Creek), was the lone Virginia selection on the second team.

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