Notre Dame’s Aneyas Williams Focused on Doing His Job and Clearing His Plate

Entering this weekend, Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams has rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns through four games.

The yardage ties a career high set last season, but Williams has had to work much harder to get there. He has started three of Notre Dame’s first four games and emerged as the Irish’s primary back.

Williams opened the season with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Wisconsin before adding 80 yards and a score last weekend against Purdue.

The performance against Purdue was satisfying after Williams was held under 30 rushing yards in each of the previous two games, which paved the door for Nolan James Jr. to start last weekend. 

“It was nice, for sure,” stated Williams. “Just a feeling, man. This team, it's a week-by-week thing, and every week we're trying to get better. It's two new guys, working a new scheme, and we're just trying to figure out what works best for this team. You have two different backs, and it's a week-by-week thing, and that's what we're figuring out.  We were finally able to bring a little bit of that to light, and we're going to be even better next week.” 

Notre Dame's run game has evolved since fall camp, with the Irish incorporating more gap-scheme concepts to fit the running styles of Williams and Nolan James Jr.

Head coach Marcus Freeman has also made it clear that Notre Dame isn't abandoning its zone schemes. The Irish will continue to adjust their run-game plan based on what opposing defenses present.

“There's not only one place the ball can hit,” Williams said of gap schemes. “Defensively, we kind of identified Wisconsin as a team that was going to play gaps and we needed to get downhill quick. Very athletic, liked to stunt. That's what we identified with Purdue, where we thought it was more duo where we were going to get those light boxes and capitalize when we did.” 

That adjustment produced one of Williams' biggest plays of the season against Purdue.

With Notre Dame calling duo and the Boilermakers presenting a light box, Williams knew exactly where the play was going.

“Once we saw the light box, and then the linebacker I was reading disappeared, all I saw was green grass,” said Williams. “So that was nice. It was good to see.” 

For Williams, this is the opportunity he has patiently waited for.

The Missouri native has spent the early part of his Notre Dame career learning behind two first-round draft picks, but now he is the leader of the running back room. With that opportunity comes a different kind of challenge.

Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider has been pleased with the way Williams has approached his responsibilities, but he also knows Williams has to learn how to handle the pressure that comes with being the guy.

“You have to make sure he doesn't feel too much weight in being that leader and trying to be the guys that were ahead of him,” Seider explained. “He's feeling that. If that was the one negative I would say, he's feeling that pressure. He is trying to please everybody and that's the biggest thing. Get off social media, put it away.” 

Williams understands that part of becoming the lead back is realizing he doesn't have to carry everything himself.

He has felt Seider and the rest of the Notre Dame offense helping take some of that weight off his shoulders, something the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder has appreciated.

“Understanding I'm not in this thing on my own was the biggest thing,” Williams explained. “It's not just me. I got all the guys in the room behind me. I got my coach backing me. I got Coach Free. I got everybody at my back. There's no pressure.

“I'm just going out there and playing the game that I love. That was the biggest thing for me, not making anything more than it is. It's all just a game at the end of the day. It just means a little bit more now. But also taking the emphasis of, it's not all or nothing. It's not life or death. I'm me, and that's who I need to be.” 

And that's where Williams' preparation comes into play.

He has developed a strict routine for breaking down each opponent, starting with identifying the different fronts he could see on Saturday.

Against North Carolina, Williams already knows what he's looking for.

“It starts with the front and then kind of like the stunts that they like to do,” said Williams. “Specifically for UNC, they like to two-gap, which is like kind of clog up the hole, but kind of play two gaps. We got to be quicker on our reads. You got to press them and got to make them play their gaps.

“You obviously go down the line and then you move up to the backers to see how they play downhill. How they like to blitz and if they are a blitzing team and then just kind of how they cover and where we can attack them.” 

The next step for Williams is simple. 

“Just clearing my plate,” said Williams. “That's the emphasis we've made as a team and that's a focus. So just doing my job week in and week out. Just keep clearing my plate and getting to the point where even more is on my plate every week.” 

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