Oklahoma RB Brandon Williams Will Be College Football's Star Freshman in 2011

South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore and Auburn’s Michael Dyer, the two most decorated running back prospects in the 2010 recruiting class, both succeeded despite lofty expectations in their first year on the job.

Lattimore rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and 17 TDs as one of the key players for a resurgent South Carolina team that made it to the SEC Championship game.

Dyer, on the other hand, finished with a 1,000-yard rushing season and ended up making the most crucial play of the national title game.

The two proved that no matter how young and inexperienced a player might be, when talent meets opportunity, great results can happen.

No matter how cool their high school highlights may be, it’s not often that you see a freshman running back come in and dominate collegiate competition like Lattimore, Dyer or even a guy like Adrian Peterson back when he was at Oklahoma.

When it does happen, it’s an absolute treat to witness.

There are plenty of backs in the 2011 recruiting class who have acquired some serious hype, but not many of them are expected to be major contributors right away this season.

Young backs like Malcolm Brown at Texas, Isaiah Crowell at Georgia and Herschel Simms at Oklahoma State are all expected to compete for carries this season. But if I had to bank on just one of this year’s freshman runners, it would have to be Brandon Williams at Oklahoma.

Williams, who played his high school ball for Royal High School in Texas, arrived in Norman as a five star prospect with plenty of expectations to live up to.

The 6’0’’, 185 lb. freshman made an immediate impression and vaulted himself up the depth chart this spring.

Judging from his high school film, Williams is the type of special, complete back who can come in and be a difference maker right from the first snap.

Yes, he’ll have to defer some carries to Roy Finch and Brennan Clay, but if Williams can break off a few big runs early in the season, it should go a long way towards earning the trust of the offensive staff.

With a quarterback like Landry Jones, and receivers like Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills, Oklahoma will be able to do enough through the air to win a national championship.

Now we just have to see if Williams can step up and provide them with the spark they need in the running game.

If the young freshman can do that, it’s hard to see many opponents giving the Sooners much of a fight this season.