The Youngstown State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the Herb Williams Scholarship to enhance the YSU Athletics Scholarship Endowment Fund.
This scholarship was recently established by former YSU great, Herb Williams. Williams holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Youngstown State football fans. He had two of the biggest catches in school history during the 1991 playoffs. Those two receptions helped propel the Penguins to their first National Championship in 1991.
Against Villanova in the first round of the playoffs, the Penguins faced fourth-and-11 from their 41-yard line. On the play, a pass was deflected and somehow Williams caught the ball as he was falling to the ground at the Wildcats’ 18-yard line. It would have truly been the top play on the SportsCenter Top 10 and a social media marvel in today’s world. The 41-yard gain set up the game-winning field goal with just six seconds remaining to Villanova advancing YSU to the second round.
In the 1991 National Championship Game against Marshall, YSU trailed the Thundering Herd 17-6 early in the fourth quarter. Williams helped spark a rally with a 33-yard touchdown reception to pull YSU within 17-13. YSU went on to beat Marshall 25-17 and earn their first national title in school history.
Williams’s impressive career for the Penguins spanned from 1988-92. He caught 110 passes for 2,031 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 1992 he had the best year of his career with 72 receptions for 1,306 yards and nine touchdowns to earn third-team AP All-America accolades. His 1,306 yards set a single-season school mark while his 72 receptions were the second most in school history. In the playoffs that season he had 19 receptions for 344 yards and a touchdown. In the title game against Marshall, he caught five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Williams was a member of the football teams that reached the playoffs in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. After his playing days he served as an assistant coach under Jim Tressel from 1996-99. While on the coaching staff, YSU won another national title in 1997 and finished as runner up in 1999.
A native of Boardman, he was a standout football and basketball player for the Boardman Spartans. He helped Boardman to the Division I State Championship football game in 1987. He was inducted into the Boardman High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. He earned his degree from YSU in Communications and received his MBA from the American Intercontinental University. Williams, who resides in Boynton Beach, Fla., works for Theravance Biopharma.
The recipient of the scholarship endowment will be a member of the football team in good academic standing. The 2018-19 recipient of the scholarship is senior defensive back Chrispin Lee.
Williams said he lives by the following motto: “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Paul McFadden, President of the YSU Foundation, said the Williams was a passionate football player who had the drive to succeed on and off the field.
“Herb Williams had a tremendous work-ethic and was a go-to player when needed throughout his career.” McFadden said. “Herb’s always stepped up in the postseason and was part of one of the most successful runs in school history. We appreciate him endowing a scholarship at YSU.”
For more information, or to endow an athletic scholarship at Youngstown State University, contact Dan Kopp at the YSU Foundation at (330) 941-3211 or dkopp@ysufoundation.org
