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BYU football: Is Jamaal Williams the best of all-time?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Jamaal Williams is BYU football’s all-time leading rusher and holds BYU’s record for single game rushing. But is he the best Cougar running back of all-time?

It’s no secret that Jamaal Williams is what makes BYU football go. BYU is 4-0 when Williams gets 26 carries or more, but 0-4 when he receives fewer.

The J-Swag Daddy is the workhorse, the bell cow, the central cog of BYU. He’s the most talented player on the roster and he’ll be playing on Sundays next year.

But is he the best BYU running back of all-time?

BYU football is lucky enough to have a number of extremely talented backs come through Provo. Ronney Jenkins, Harvey Unga, Curtis Brown, Jamal Willis, Pete Van Valkenburg… not to mention the great Luke Staley.

So where does Williams fit in? Well, it depends on who you ask. Some believe he’s still behind Staley (since Staley brought home the Doak Walker Award), others believe he’s ahead of Staley because of his tougher schedules and durability.

Regardless, most people round down their top five to some combination of the aforementioned names.

Here’s my list of the top five BYU football running backs of all-time.

No. 5: Ronney Jenkins

A lot of people penalize Jenkins for only playing two seasons (1996-1998) in Provo before moving on the the NFL after an expulsion due to Honor Code violations

I don’t.

Jenkins was one of the most electric playmakers in BYU football history – and his explosiveness is what sustained his NFL career.

Jenkins ran for 733 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman and took home the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Award. He was also selected as the team’s Rookie of the Year by the coaching staff.

Jenkins redshirted in 1997 (due to a Honor Code violation), then returned in 1998 to run for 1,307 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 349 receiving yards and led the WAC in yards from and touchdowns from scrimmage.

No. 4: Curtis Brown

Brown played in Provo from 2002-2006 and posted back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in 2005 (1,095) and 2006 (1,010).

His fewest yards per carry in his BYU career was 4.2, which he posted as a freshman in 2002.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Brown’s game was that he could do it two ways. He could carve up defenses on the ground and he could hurt them through the air.

Brown was a two-time All-Mountain West Conference player and finished his BYU football career with 3,211 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also caught 157 passes for 1,309 yards and five touchdowns.

No. 3: Harvey Unga

BYU football’s former all-time leading rusher, Unga was a game-changing and nearly unstoppable runner for the Cougars.

Unga played at BYU from 2006-2009 and  ran for 100 or more yards 15 times in his career. He averaged five yards per carry in his career and ran for double-digit touchdowns and 1,000+ yards in three straight seasons.

Unga left BYU after his junior season, finishing with 4,540 total yards and 45 touchdowns in his career.

Now Unga is a graduate assistant on head coach Kalani Sitake’s staff. He had a front-row seat as Jamaal Williams broke his career rushing record. But we’ll get to Williams in a bit.

No. 2: Luke Staley

Staley was not just one of the best running backs in BYU football history, but one of the best runners in NCAA history.

Injuries unfortunately hampered his career – and killed his shot at the NFL – but make no mistake about it: Staley was a must watch player from 1999-2001.

Every time he touched the ball there was a chance (and a good one at that) that something special would happen.

Staley is still BYU football’s leader in career touchdowns (48) and he took home some serious hardware.

In his junior season (2001), Staley was named the MWC Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, the Jim Brown Award winner and the Doak Walker Award winner.

Staley ran for 2,507 yards and 41 touchdowns during his tenure in Provo and added 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns receiving.

No. 1: Jamaal Williams

Cougar fans take notice: you’re witnessing history.

Williams gets the No. 1 spot in my mind because he’s faced stiffer competition and has (for the most part) been more dependable. Also, he has the weakest supporting cast of any of these players and he’s posting a career year with them.

Taysom Hill has lost a step and wide receivers can’t get open (and when they do, they can’t catch the ball). Yet, J-Swag Daddy is turning in the best season of his career.

He’s currently No. 4 in the nation in rushing yards (942), despite missing an entire game. His 10 touchdowns have him tied for the No. 15 spot in the country.

With a weak schedule remaining (at Cincinnati, then three straight home games against Southern Utah, UMass and Utah State) he could very well approach 1,600 yards on the season. With a possible showdown with San Diego State and Donnel Pumphrey looming in the Poinsettia Bowl in December, Williams will have the chance to go one-on-one with the nation’s leading rusher.

Think he’ll be amped up? I do.

Want your voice heard? Join the Lawless Republic team!

Before missing the game against Boise State, I thought Williams had a chance at wining the Doak Walker Award, but now I think those chances are shot. However, he still has the opportunity to turn in one of the most productive seasons in BYU football history.

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