SALT LAKE CITY — After not being on the field for the better part of two seasons, Jamaal Williams has been terrific this season, rushing for over 160 yards in three of the past four games, becoming BYU’s all-time leading rusher in the process.

He has good vision and is elusive and powerful, with an impressive number of broken tackles. He’s second in the FBS in rushing yards and fourth in the FBS in rushing touchdowns.

Despite all this dominance, Williams doesn’t seem to be on many teams' radars. CBS Sports has him ranked as the 53rd running back prospect this season, not even worthy of being an undrafted free agent.

Walter Football doesn’t have him in its top 25, with running backs like Barry Sanders Jr. (21 carries for 41 yards and two touchdowns on the season) above Williams. There are several reasons Williams may be so low on so many draft boards.

Legendary year for running backs

This year will bring the best batch of running back prospects we’ve seen in a long, long time. Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey are all getting first-round consideration, potentially all going in the top 20.

It doesn’t drop much from there. Oregon’s Royce Freeman is a back NFL scouts have been watching for a while. Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine and Clemson’s Wayne Gallman are both getting attention and are helping their stock every week.

Both of Tennessee’s backs, Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, are getting NFL looks, with scouts split on who they like better.

Georgia’s Nick Chubb is running well after returning from a nasty knee injury, and Pittsburgh’s James Conner is looking sharp after winning a battle with cancer.

All these running backs are crowding attention, and these are the ones with first- to third-round grades, depending on whom you ask. Williams’ big season may be getting ignored because of everyone above him.

Two-year disappearing act

Williams fell out of sight and out of mind when he didn’t hit the field in just under two seasons. His 2014 season had a disappointing start (for his standards) before a knee injury ended his year. A down season loses a scout’s attention and a knee injury really loses it.

He didn’t get to play in 2015 because of rules violations. Off-the-field issues, injuries and just not playing are a bad combination. Williams turned heads as a true freshman, but between 2014 and 2015, the rest of the nation forgot about him. He’s trying to dig his way out of a hole of obscurity, which is never easy to do.

Tough game no-show

Big games over Michigan State and West Virginia have given him more credibility, but in the past Williams hasn’t shown up well in big games. Earlier this season, he had a combined 86 yards and only one touchdown with 26 carries against Pac-12 opponents Utah and UCLA.

In 2013, Notre Dame and Washington kept him to under 3 yards per carry, in 2014, he only found the end zone in two out of six games he saw significant time in, and in 2012 he was awful in the bowl game against San Diego State. Even last week against Mississippi State he disappeared, averaging less than 3 yards per carry and being shut out of the end zone.

Michigan State and West Virginia aren’t his first big games against Power 5 teams, but his good games against strong competition are fewer than his bad games. The competition is harder in the NFL, and unimpressive numbers against strong teams are likely adding to his poor stock.

Not Power 5

It’s not fair, but it’s college football. The fact that he’s not in a Power 5 conference means he won’t be given the benefit of the doubt. Fournette has had bad games, but he’s still considered a top 10 pick. Todd Gurley tore his ACL and still went No. 10 overall in the 2015 draft. Williams’ struggles aren’t anything new, but it’s the reality of the game. If you’re not Power 5, you’ll have a harder time pulling NFL looks.

Hope for the future

Finally, after the past month, Williams is starting to gain some minor attention from scouts. NFL.com reported him as a midseason star whose draft stock is rising. Today’s Pigskin named him “The top RB prospect you’ve never heard of.” He’s showing scouts that his knee injury isn’t affecting him and he can still put up big numbers.

With more people noticing him he may hear his name called in Philadelphia this spring. The odds are stacked against him, and it’s extremely unlikely he’ll be selected in the first two days of the draft, but the arrow is pointing up. If Williams keeps putting up huge numbers, some NFL GM somewhere may just decide he belongs on his team.

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