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Blacksburg, VA — The No. 11 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (6-2, 9-3) finished their 2009 regular season with a 42-13 mauling of in-state rival, the Virginia Cavaliers (2-6, 3-9) in which redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams rushed for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns.

Today, the ACC recognized Williams’ dominating performance by named him Rookie of the Week for the seventh time this season. In addition to running roughshod over the Cavaliers, Williams broke the ACC’s freshman single-season rushing and touchdown records.

Williams has 1,358 yards this season, which sets a new Virginia Tech and ACC freshman record and ranks second on Tech’s list of best single-season rushing performances. The phenom from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., needs only 110 yards to break the program’s record, set in 2003 by Kevin Jones, who rushed for 1,647 yards.

The rushing record isn’t the only record that fell to the humble, no-frills freshman. He now owns the ACC’s freshman TD scoring record with 20, breaking N.C. State’s T.A. McLendon’s 2002 record of 18.

See a complete list of the ACC’s weekly awards.

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Blacksburg, VA – Ryan Williams has already broken two rushing records at Virginia Techin his freshman season. He broke Darren Evans‘ record for most 100-yard games by a running back. Evans had four last season and Williams has seven through 10 games this season.

Evans also set the freshman TD record last season with 11, but Williams broke that, too, with a 1-yard TD run in a 36-9 win over Maryland to give him 12 so far this season.

So what’s next for the ACC’s leading rusher, who is also ranked seventh in the country? How about Tech’s freshman record for most rushing yards in a season; most 100-yard games in a season by running back (freshman or otherwise), and maybe even Tech’s single season rushing record.

The freshman from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., leads the ACC with 1,235 yards through 10 games and needs only 31 more yards to break Evans’ record (1,265) for most rushing yards in a season by a freshman. That record, as you have probably guessed, was set last season by Evans.

The Virginia Tech record for most 100-yard rushing games in a single season is nine, set by Kevin Jones in the 2003 season. Williams can tie that record if he reaches the century mark in the Hokies final two regular season games; and he can break the record if he can rush for at least 100 yards in Tech’s bowl game.

Last, but not least, is Tech’s single season rushing record. Kevin Jones rushed for 1,647 yards during 2003 season. If Williams gets his average of 123 yards per game in the Hokies’ final three games, he’ll have 1,604 for the season, good enough for second place behind Jones. But, if Williams can have a couple of big games and average about 138 yards over the next three games, he will break Jones’ six-year-old record.

Currently, Williams ranks fifth on the list for single-season rushing yards:

1. Kevin Jones – 1,647 yards (2003)
2. Cyrus Lawrence – 1,403 yards (1981)
3. Lee Suggs – 1,325 (2002)
4. Darren Evans – 1,265 (2008)
5. Ryan Williams – 1,235 (2009)

One record that Williams is not in danger of breaking is the Virginia Tech record for rushing touchdowns in a season (27) set by Lee Suggs in 2000. Suggs also holds the school record for total TDs in a season with 28, also set in 2000.

Williams and the Hokies (4-2,76-3) host N.C. State (1-5, 4-6) on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

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After jettisoning troubled and unproductive first round bust Cedric Benson, the Chicago Bears have turned to former Virginia Tech standout runningback Kevin Jones to help fill the void. Jones signed a one-year deal worth $605,000. Jones has been plagued by injuries since arriving in the NFL in the 2004 season, but rushed for a career-high eight touchdowns last season. Read more at the Chicago Sun Times.

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