University of Richmond Athletics
Hightower Garners National Player Of The Week Honors
Sept. 11, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond senior running back Tim Hightower was named the Sports Network National Offensive Player of the Week for his 246-yard, four-touchdown effort in Saturday's 49-14 win over Northeastern. His four rushing touchdowns were the most by a running back last week in major college football and his 246 yards were second-most.
The Spiders (1-1, 1-0 CAA), who have a bye this Saturday, are receiving votes in both Football Championship Subdivision polls (Sports Network and CSN Coaches).
Hightower becomes the Spiders' first national offensive player of the week since former QB (and now New York Jets FB) Stacy Tutt earned mention from I-AA.org and Football Gazette in late October 2005. Former Spider LB Adam Goloboski was a national defensive honoree by I-AA.org in September last season.
The senior running back, who was also named CAA Football's Offensive POW, ignited the offense in Richmond's decisive conference-opening win on the road Saturday. His four scores came on runs of three yards, 90 yards, 67 yards and 12 yards, tying him with six others for the second-most single-game rushing TDs in school history.
The 90-yard jaunt, which saw Hightower get a number of key blocks as he zigzagged down the sidelines, ranks as the third-longest from scrimmage in the Richmond books. The Waldorf, Md. native's rushing total marked the second-most in school history, equaling a mark set in 2001 by Cordell Roane. Only the 280 yards from NFL first-round draft choice Barry Redden (versus Penn in 1981) is better.
The 246 yards rushing and four TDs are both career highs for Hightower. The Richmond offense also enjoyed a record-breaking day as the Spiders racked up 642 yards of total offense, 443 of which were on the ground -- both marking single-game records.