Before his senior season started, he suffered a cracked pelvis in a serious automobile accident, because at the time the redshirt option didn't exist, he went on to play with the injury. He was a tri-captain of the 1971 team, along with Gary Mullins and Frank Ditta. His 1,757 rushing yards were the second most yards in a season in NCAA history and the most in school history at the time. He received second-team All-American honors by the Associated Press at the end of the year.