Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams entered this season with legitimate Heisman hopes. Now, he's just hoping to contribute again after injuring his hamstring against East Carolina on Sept. 18.

Williams made his return in a 44-7 win against Duke last week, but he played sparingly. By the time the Hokies host Georgia Tech on Nov. 4, those within the program expect him to be back to his season-opening form.

Against Duke, Williams finished with 10 yards and a touchdown on six carries. He scored on a 1-yard run with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

Running backs coach Billy Hite said Williams has been practicing well, and was able to keep up with his teammates during sprints, but that he'd like Williams to continue running on his own to improve his conditioning.

"My big concern was No. 1, I wanted him to get back in, get some playing time, I wanted him to get knocked around a little bit," said Hite. "That's exactly what we got. I was more worried about conditioning. When you miss 35 days of practice and you have the kind of injury he had, you can't do much conditioning work. That was the big concern that I had.

"I told him I was only going to give him 10 or 12 plays. I believe he ended up getting 11 plays, and on the goal line he did score a touchdown. He had a couple broken tackles, made a guy miss one time, and I think Ryan's back to his old form right now."