BOISE, Idaho – Boise State redshirt senior cornerback and return specialist Avery Williams was announced as one of 67 nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy, the award committee announced Tuesday.
The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in the country who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field. In its 11th year, the award is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, a former Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman. Each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with a Football Bowl Subdivision program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.
The Burlsworth Trophy will host a virtual awards ceremony on Jan. 4, 2021, to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2020 winner.
Williams has started each of the Broncos’ five games in 2020, returning 12 punts for 160 yards and a touchdown, 14 kickoffs for 415 yards and two touchdowns, and picking up 15 tackles (12 solo), a forced fumble and two blocked kicks on defense.
Williams ranks second nationally and first in the MW with 575 combined kickoff and punt return yards, and is the only player in the country to rank in the top-10 nationally in both punt returns (9th; 13.3 yards per return) and kickoff returns (9th; 29.6 yards per return). He is one of only three players in the country – and the only player in the MW – with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns, and ranks tied for first nationally with two such returns for scores.
Williams is the only player in the country with multiple kick return scores and a punt return for a TD.
The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in the country who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field. In its 11th year, the award is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, a former Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman. Each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with a Football Bowl Subdivision program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.
The Burlsworth Trophy will host a virtual awards ceremony on Jan. 4, 2021, to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2020 winner.
Williams has started each of the Broncos’ five games in 2020, returning 12 punts for 160 yards and a touchdown, 14 kickoffs for 415 yards and two touchdowns, and picking up 15 tackles (12 solo), a forced fumble and two blocked kicks on defense.
Williams ranks second nationally and first in the MW with 575 combined kickoff and punt return yards, and is the only player in the country to rank in the top-10 nationally in both punt returns (9th; 13.3 yards per return) and kickoff returns (9th; 29.6 yards per return). He is one of only three players in the country – and the only player in the MW – with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns, and ranks tied for first nationally with two such returns for scores.
Williams is the only player in the country with multiple kick return scores and a punt return for a TD.
