Career: Rushed for more than 500 yards in each of his four seasons, contributing to his App State total of 2,216 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns and a per-carry average of 5.5 yards ... Played in 42 career games, made six career starts and had six career-games with 100-plus rushing yards (career-high 130 against Georgia Southern in 2017).
2020: Opening-game starter dealt with injuries for most of season and had 503 rushing yards on 68 attempts (7.4 average) with three touchdowns … Started two games and played in eight … Started season with 117 rushing yards on 14 carries with one touchdown against Charlotte and ended season with 101 yards on six carries with one touchdown … Scored on a 70-yard run in the bowl win against North Texas and later had a 79-yard touchdown run erased by a debated penalty that occurred well behind the play, after Williams had broken free down the right sideline … Officially had three runs of at least 40 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown while rushing for 103 yards on 13 carries at ULM ... Preseason second-team All-Sun Belt from Lindy's and Athlon.
2019: All-Sun Belt honorable mention … Ranked second on team behind Sun Belt rushing champion Darrynton Evans with 652 rushing yards on 113 attempts, good for a per-carry average of 5.8 yards … Played in all 14 games … Scored five rushing touchdowns, including two in a win against Coastal Carolina … Rushed for at least 78 yards in four of App State’s last nine games … Rushed for a season-high 94 yards with one touchdown on 11 carries at South Alabama … Gained 78 yards and scored a 29-yard touchdown on eight carries in the win against Louisiana in the Sun Belt title game … Rushed 16 times for 79 yards (with one TD) against ULM and 15 times for 78 yards against Texas State.
2018: Saw action in 12 of 13 games for the Mountaineers and started at running back in the Sun Belt Championship Game, taking the field after Darrynton Evans returned Louisiana’s first kickoff 97 yards to the 1-yard line … Rushed for career highs of 561 yards on 122 attempts and scored four rushing touchdowns, including a 1-yard TD run on App State’s first offensive play in the Sun Belt Championship Game … Made five catches for 84 yards and one score - a 27-yard touchdown reception against Gardner-Webb … Rushed for a season-high 109 yards on 19 attempts and scored the final touchdown in a 23-7 win at Coastal Carolina … With App State ahead by eight points in the fourth quarter of the Sun Belt Championship Game, started a game-clinching series with a 34-yard reception and gained 17 yards on three straight carries to put the Mountaineers in field goal range … Averaged 4.6 yards a rush and lost a total of only 8 yards on his 122 attempts … Rushed for a touchdown in three consecutive midseason contests … Had a long rush of 27 yards at Charlotte ... Athlon Sports preseason All-Sun Belt fourth team.
2017: Appeared in eight games as a redshirt freshman and started three straight when Jalin Moore was sidelined by injury … His three starts included 125 rushing yards on 25 carries against UMass in his first career start and 130 yards on 28 carries against Georgia Southern in the third start. Also started at ULM … Finished the season with 500 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 97 attempts (5.2 average) … Had two 1-yard TD runs in the fourth quarter against Coastal Carolina to push App State’s lead from 23-22 to 37-22 … Ran nine times for 68 yards in the Dollar General Bowl win.
2016: Redshirted
High School: Rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com and 247Sports ... Area Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-area honoree as a senior ... Ran for 2,379 yards and 36 touchdowns and caught nine passes for 210 yards and two more scores during final prep campaign ... Averaged 8.5 yards per rush and 158.6 rushing yards per game as a senior ... Also rushed for three two-point conversions and recorded eight tackles as a cornerback as a senior ... Averaged 31.6 yards per kickoff return over final two prep seasons ... Helped lead Southwest Edgecombe to a 13-2 record, North Carolina 2-A state semifinal appearance and No. 70 overall state ranking in 2015 ... Coached by J.C. Cobb ... Chose Appalachian State over Duke.
Personal: Full name is Marcus Williams Jr. … Son of Kimberly and Donyell Thigpen … Has five siblings: Vasnique, Imani, Jordan, Harmony and Joshua … Enjoys fishing, gymnastics and watching movies in his free time.
