A running back named Williams from Missouri, you say? On Friday evening, Notre Dame added its 7th member of the 2024 recruiting class as running back Aneyas Williams committed to Marcus Freeman and the Irish program following multiple visits to campus throughout 2022.

Hailing from Hannibal High School in northeast Missouri just across the Mississippi River from Illinois, Williams was offered by Notre Dame back in early June with the Irish remaining the favorite right through until today.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9256 rating), #185 overall, #22 ATH, #5 in MO

On3 Consensus — 4 star (91.90), #140 overall, #13 RB, #4 in MO

The 247 Composite and On3 Consensus both combine 247, On3, Rivals, and ESPN rankings.

247Sports — 4 star (90 rating), #240 overall, #35 ATH, #6 in MO

On3 — 4 star (91 rating), #185 overall, #16 RB, #5 in MO

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #106 overall, #1 APB, #3 in MO

ESPN — 4 star (80 grade), #292 overall, #27 RB, #7 in MO

Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama does the recruit evaluations for ISD, and we trust his evals as much as anyone’s. So while the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus don’t factor in ISD evals, we put a lot of weight on them ourselves.

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (91 rating)

Aneyas seems to be suffering from the athlete label which can sometimes affect a recruit’s rankings across all of these different websites. Many do expect him to settle in as running back in the rankings and move up much higher than his ESPN and 247 grades.

Cohort

Williams had a big summer picking up offers. In addition to Notre Dame, he was offered by Alabama, Florida, and Ohio State. Additionally, he holds offers from Oregon, Penn State, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, and several others.

Highlights

Williams totaled 1,999 all-purpose yards and 34 total touchdowns in 2022 but as a sophomore in 2021 he destroyed Hannibal High School records left and right to put himself on the national scene, as follows:

105 rushing attempts
1,001 rushing yards
9.53 rushing average
20 rushing touchdowns
63 receptions
1,297 receiving yards
20.5 receiving average
24 receiving touchdowns
9 punt returns
360 punt return yards
2 punt return touchdowns
4 kickoff returns
98 kickoff return yards
2,756 all-purpose yards
46 total touchdowns

All of that production inside of 14 games from Missouri Class IV football.

There isn’t the same type of suddenness and burst like we saw from Kyren Williams in college, but people are going to make the comparison for Aneyas in many other areas of his game. They share a very stocky frame with a larger lower body and a lot of shiftiness.

Obviously, the pass-catching abilities stand out. Williams shows really good power and strength when in a crowd and coupled with his vision and cutting ability he’s able to navigate through traffic for extra yards extremely well at the high school level.

Listed at 5’10” he’s not real tall but already looks college-ready at nearly 200 pounds.

Overall speed will be something to focus on once Williams gets to college. Will he be fast enough to become a big-time star and home run threat like in high school?

Impact

I’ll be curious to see how Williams handles the step up to Notre Dame and a different level of athleticism. On the one hand, he’ll be ready physically at his size and brings with him a versatile game and plenty of opportunity to flex out in the slot or take jet sweeps. On the other hand, some of the competition in his highlights from Missouri high school leave a lot to be desired with extremely poor tackling and weak defensive play.

It feels like Williams will have a very high floor but there’s also an element of boom or bust, too. He could come in and struggle against the size and speed, or maybe he truly is sneaky fast and follows in the footsteps of Show Me State brethren Kyren Williams and turns into a potent weapon for the Irish.

Currently, the the running back room for Notre Dame looks quite congested. By the time Williams arrives on campus there should be plenty of turn over and space available for playing time. Both Audric Estime and Logan Diggs would be entering their senior seasons, although with this position it’s possible one of them has moved on to the next level by that point.

Welcome to the Irish family, Aneyas!