Entering the season, the media weren’t lining up to chat with Indiana tailback Levron Williams.

He wasn’t plastered all over magazine covers, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit weren’t tossing his name around on ESPN’s College Gameday. His picture wasn’t even on any of the Hoosiers’ media guide covers.

But the lack of attention doesn’t faze Williams.

“It’s not the issue right now,” he said. “Our main focus is to win.”

Although Indiana isn’t posting many “W’s” right now, Williams is doing his part to keep the Hoosiers competitive. The fifth-year senior is currently the Big Ten’s second-leading rusher and he’s been one of the few bright spots on a lackluster 1-5 squad.

“Levron is a guy whose really had a solid career for four years,” Indiana head coach Cam Cameron said. “He’s just steadily improved. Does he do one thing outstanding? I’m not sure he does, but he does a lot of things well.”

With a hulking 6-foot-3, 228-pound frame, Williams’ finesse is also a threat outside the tackles in the Hoosiers’ option system. His 7.1 career yards-per-carry average ranks among the best in Big Ten history.

The Evansville, Ind., native has reliable hands as well. He came to Indiana as a wide receiver, but was moved to running back early in his career. He’s still a proven receiver, however. While catching 20 passes for 116 yards in 2000, Williams had 33 receptions for 360 yards and three touchdowns the previous year.

“He’s the scariest of all running backs,” Northwestern head coach Randy Walker said. “He has all the tools. He’s a big kid with great ball skills and great receiving ability — the instincts you look for in a running back. It’s going to present a real problem and a real challenge for our defense.”

Williams has already been picking defenses apart this season. He’s racked up 712 yards on 97 carries, for an average of 118.7 per game — second in the conference. His whopping 7.3 yards per carry is tops in the Big Ten.

Williams’ breakout game came almost a month ago in the Hoosiers’ 63-32 trouncing of Wisconsin. He ran for 280 yards and tied a Big Ten record with six touchdowns.

And while many overlook Williams for some of the league’s more highly-touted tailbacks such as NU’s Damien Anderson, Michigan State’s T.J. Duckett and Wisconsin’s Anthony Davis, the 22-year-old is quietly stealing the show. His stats are better than both Anderson and Duckett so far this season.

Williams attributes much of his success to his off-season training and Indiana’s familiar offense.

“It’s in the option game, really,” he said. “The option is like second nature to us. It’s hard to contain and you’ve got a great quarterback here.

“It starts from hard work, though,” Williams added.

Despite the impressive early-season showing, Williams still plays in the shadow of Indiana’s record-setting quarterback, Antwaan Randle El. But the hoopla surrounding Randle El doesn’t distract him.

“I think Levron understands the things that he does help Antwaan,” Cameron said. “They complement each other. I don’t think there’s one guy concerned about one guy getting more credit than the other.

“Both guys are tired of losing. They want to do everything they can to win. If that means sacrificing their individual attention, they’d do that in a second.”

The two seniors roomed together during the 1997-1998 school year, and Williams said he’s grateful for the friendship they have both on and off the field. In their final season with a struggling Hoosiers squad, each relies on the other for encouragement when times are tough. They also mesh well on the gridiron.

“He’s a great player,” Williams said of Randle El. “He’s brought so much to the program. He helps the running game as a whole. (Opposing teams) are looking to stop him. If they stop him, they got me.”

But Williams and Randle El need help if the Hoosiers plan on salvaging their season. Williams said he entered the 2001 campaign with high expectations — his No. 1 priority being to make it to a bowl game. Yet, at 1-5 Indiana will have to win its five remaining games just to become bowl eligible.

And although Williams admits that earning All-Big Ten honors would be a satisfying reward in his final year, it’s a small parting gift for another losing season.

“It’s kind of disappointing right now that we’re in that situation,” Williams said. “It’s very hard.”