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Notre Dame lost some significant star power on the offensive side of the ball from last season. Doak Walker Award winning running back Jeremiyah Love and his explosive counterpart Jadarian Price are both headed off to the NFL after combining for 2,046 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in 2025 alone. That paves the way for rising junior Aneyas Williams to step into the lead-back role and have a major breakout this upcoming season. 

There's three different levels to a player breaking out. The first level of a breakout season is a player going from not playing a ton to being an integral part of the rotation. The second level of a breakout is a player going from a key rotation guy to a starter. The final level of a breakout is going from a starter to a certified dude on their respective side of the ball. Williams has the opportunity to make a multi-level jump this fall. 

We've seen Williams featured in the Fighting Irish offense sporadically throughout his career thus far. In 2024, he earned the third-down role as a true freshman playing 213 snaps including snaps in all four playoff games.

Against Penn State, Williams was one of the main players who got the offense going to start the second half after catching a 36-yard wheel route on the opening drive of the third quarter and following that up with a 15-yard rush into the red zone. 

This past season, he didn't see the field in much capacity, but when he was on the field, he made the most of his opportunity. The 5-10, 206-pound running back only played 47 offensive snaps in 2026, but still rushed for 224 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries. Averaging 9.3 yards per carry in a limited role is no easy task, and Williams will be looking to translate that production in a season-long performance this upcoming fall. 

Odds are, the Missouri native will likely be the No. 1 back heading into fall camp, but redshirt sophomore Kedren Young, who was in the same recruiting class as Williams, and redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr. will look to make a push in the rotation. Running back coach Ja'Jaun Seider has yet to dive deeper than a two-back rotation throughout his career at the running back spot; this season, due to the depth of talent in the room, he might have to break that trend. 

BREAKOUT PREDICTION

Williams has been a big play weapon throughout his career at Notre Dame, we just haven't seen it as consistently as we saw Love and Price between 2024 and 2025. Over the last two seasons, Williams has recorded three touchdown runs of 50-yards or longer and will be an ideal fit within this explosive Mike Denbrock offense which broke the school record for yards per play (7.3) in 2026. 

It likely won't look like the numbers Love put up over the last two seasons due to the probable rotation between Williams, Young and James Jr., but it will still be impactful nonetheless. Improved offensive line play will aid all three backs, but especially the Hannibal, Missouri native in producing really good numbers this fall. Williams also adds a true weapon as a pass catcher out of the backfield. 

In 2025, we saw Love take on a bigger role as a pass catcher, but Williams is still the most natural pass catcher in the room, and was last season. In high school, the former consensus four-star recruit tallied 177 receptions and 3,249 receiving yards to go along with his 4,255 career rushing yards and 151 total touchdowns.

Williams has the opportunity to be one of the best dual-threat running backs Notre Dame has had in quite some time. Although I don't know how many one-handed wheel routes he'll tally in prime time, but I wouldn't put it past him. 

Notre Dame will likely be a more pass-heavy offense this fall featuring Heisman hopeful and returning starting quarterback CJ Carr, but ideally, Carr isn't throwing the football 40 times a game. The Irish are still an offense geared around establishing the line of scrimmage and having success in the run game. Williams will have to have an impactful season and he's in prime position to do so.

Will he win the Doak Walker Award? I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it, but will he continue the streak of dominant running back play in South Bend? That's extremely likely. 

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