Someone forgot to remind Texas fullback Ricky Williams that he is a true freshman.
Not only did he make history before the Longhorns' 38-17 win over Hawaii late Saturday night in Honolulu, his performance in the game was good enough to go down in the record books.
The 6-1, 210-pound running back became the first freshman to start in his first game at that position since Earl Campbell back in 1974. Williams then broke Campbell's freshman debut rushing mark.
Williams amassed 95 yards on 10 carries and scored twice, including an impressive 65-yard sprint for a touchdown. His rushing total was the most in Longhorn history by a freshman running back in his debut game, edging Campbell's old mark of 85 yards on 13 carries set against Boston College in 1974.
Although no one is gift-wrapping the Heisman Trophy for Williams just yet, it did create a sense of excitement Orangebloods haven't felt in recent years.
"I was real pleased with the way Ricky played, and Shon [Mitchell] and Wane [McGarity] also ran well," Texas coach John Mackovic said. "They're young players in learning. I was pleased with our overall performance. There are a lot of little things to work on and correct."
The victory helped Texas (1-0, 0-0 in the SWC) improve from No. 18 to No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 football poll and to No. 13 in the CNN/USA Today poll.
At the 7:53 mark of the third quarter, Williams showed why he was so highly recruited out of San Diego's Patrick Henry High School. With the Longhorns facing a third-and-20 situation, Williams took the handoff up the middle, stumbled somewhat after crossing the line of scrimmage, eluded three Hawaii defenders -- and darted to his right 65 yards toward the end zone.
Williams also scored the game's first touchdown when he went around the right side for a 7-yard scamper midway in the first quarter. And he came within 2 yards of another score in the first half when Texas quarterback James Brown hit Williams with a short pass that turned into a 48-yard gain.
Newcomer Shon Mitchell, a junior transfer and former LBJ High School star at halfback, did little to disappoint in his Longhorn debut as well.
On the game's first play from scrimmage, Mitchell picked up 20 yards on a left-side run that seemed to set the tone for the day. Mitchell went on to total 76 yards on eight carries, but was slowed down when he twisted an ankle in the second quarter.
Williams and Mitchell each averaged 9.5 yards per carry on the ground.
"Those plays with the running backs, those young guys, they ran the wrong way sometimes," Mackovic said. "They had us pulling our hair out on a couple of situations.
"But when they had the ball, and they hit the crease, they showed why we've been impressed, why we've been excited about their performance and what they've been able to bring to the team."
The young backfield wasn't the only area of strength for the Texas offense. Brown finished the game completing nine of 22 passes for 210 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Flanker Mike Adams, who came away with five receptions for 98 yards, caught a 16-yard TD strike from Brown with just over one minute left in the first quarter. The play gave the Longhorns a commanding 17-0 lead, which later stretched to 31-3 at the half.
Defensively, end Tony Brackens pressured the Hawaii quarterbacks all night, forced a fumble and recovered another. Inside linebacker Tyson King finished with two sacks and a game-high 10 tackles.
But the news was not all good from Saturday's win. Sophomore inside linebacker Kyle Richardson had a partial tear of his right knee and will likely miss four to six weeks, Mackovic said.
Texas 17 14 7 0 -- 38
Hawaii 0 3 0 14 -- 17
Tex--FG Dawson 22
Tex--Williams 7 run (Dawson kick)
Tex--Adams 16 pass from Brown (Dawson kick)
Tex--Wilson 2 run (Dawson kick)
Haw--FG Oswalt 20
Tex--Clayton 4 run (Dawson kick)
Tex--Williams 65 run (Dawson kick)
Haw--Alualu 2 run (Oswalt kick)
Haw--Micus 7 pass from Hao (Oswalt kick)
A--43,243.
Texas Hawaii
First downs 18 24
Rushes-yards 30-176 55-187
Passing 280 122
Return Yards 1 20
Comp-Att-Int 13-30-1 10-25-0
Punts 4-36 5-31
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 6-2
Penalties-Yards 15-111 7-56
Time of Possession 23:46 36:14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Texas - Williams 10-95, Mitchell 8-76, Clayton 2-8, McGarity 3-5.
Hawaii - Alualu 27-107, Cunningham 4-28, Freitas 8-19, Ornellas 2-13,
Macon 2-15, Klaneski 4-9.
PASSING
Texas - Brown 9-22-0-210, Walton 4-8-1-70.
Hawaii - Hao 7-18-0-90, Freitas 3-5-0-32, Macon 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING
Texas - Adams 5-98, White 2-50, Wallace 2-21, Williams 1-48,
Fitzgerald 1-32, Davis 1-20, Bradley 1-11.
Hawaii - Klaneski 3-29, Lacey 3-28, Harding 1-29, Mane 1-15, Grissam 1-14.