Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305649
14 NOV. 7, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL T he offseason transformation and shaping of Kyren Williams into Notre Dame's top running back can be traced to a field known as "The Dirty Hole" and the dining room table at his St. Louis area home. There were other factors, other stakeholders and other locations, but those two stand out in particular. One was where he set into motion a list of training goals when COVID-19 forced him and his Notre Dame teammates home this spring and left them to their own devices to stay conditioned. At the other, he tweaked some habits to slim down after an initial desire to bulk up backfired. The activity at both locations was a product of self-awareness born from a lost freshman season that started with spring practice and fall camp buzz — and effectively ended with a dropped screen pass in the season opener against Louisville. Four gar- bage-time carries in the next game against New Mexico followed before an eventual redshirt and disappear- ance from public view. "I could see from the stands he was distraught," his father, Larry Wil- liams, said of the drop. "But from that point on, he was determined." There was no finger pointing or ex- cuse making. He still belonged here, he thought. A few alterations were simply necessary and obvious. He needed to change his diet, reshape his frame and increase his speed. Op- portunity was available with 2019 leading rusher Tony Jones Jr. in the pros, and he wanted to snatch it. "There's a little bit of actualization that, 'I probably need to understand that this is my time now. I have a chance and I better pay attention to the nutrition and physical part,'" Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. Williams' pandemic productivity allowed him to filch Notre Dame's lead back role, but maybe even he didn't expect it to take off this fast and take the Irish ground game this far. Now a sophomore, Williams is the focal point of a rushing offense that ranked 10th nationally in rush yards per game (231.8) and 15th in yards per carry (5.1) among teams that have played more than one game as of Oct. 24. Running the ball is Notre Dame's identity this season instead of something the Irish just did be- cause it was wise a year ago. Williams' fit into Notre Dame's outside zone-based scheme appeared natural from the season opener against Duke, when he made his first career start, ran for 112 yards and earned the game ball. He's strong enough to shed tackles. He's fast enough to break long runs. His vision and patience mesh with a slower- developing run scheme. "If he can juke someone, he will," Larry Williams said. "If not, he will put his head down and get as many yards as he can. I appreciate that he always falls forward." All told, the 5-9, 195-pound Wil- liams had 524 rushing yards on 5.8 yards per carry through five games. He's 10 pounds lighter than his listed weight in 2019, his body more an- gular, muscles more defined. His 10 catches were tied for third on the team. Even in a shorter season, he's on pace to be Notre Dame's first 1,000-yard rusher since Josh Adams in 2017. "My freshman season taught me I could do this," Williams said af- ter that breakout first start. "I just needed more time. I was able to change my body. Where I'm at now is where I feel the most comfortable." A WELCOMED GRIND The first rule of workouts at "The Dirty Hole" is to bring ample water. There's no shade. No bench to sit on, cover to take or readily available source for hydration. The "hole," oddly enough, is actually on a raised surface. It's a middle school grass field in greater St. Louis, on a hill and invisible from the nearby road. "It's almost like a hole and you just deal with what's there," said Jerry Stanfield, Williams' running backs coach at St. John Vianney High School in St. Louis and his trainer since ninth grade. "I'll just tell him to meet me at the Dirty Hole at 3:30, 6:30 or whatever time we want." And so at least three times per week this spring and early summer, Williams linked up with Stanfield at the hole to train and reach the goal Williams set for himself: get faster. Maybe nerves got to him that night in Louisville, too, and maybe his bench- ing was too harsh. But Williams felt he was too big and a bit too slow. Runs he broke in high school weren't touchdowns or chunks in practice. Williams' speed work consisted of chugging up and down the hill at the Dirty Hole and some drills Stanfield devised to build speed and endur- ance. The two go hand in hand, Stan- field says. There were 300s — 100 yards down, back and down again at sprint speed. Then, a particularly grueling one Stanfield dubbed "four quarters." "Basically, I set up four of five cones anywhere from five yards to seven yards to 15 to 30 to 50 and con- stantly, he will sprint to wherever I stand," Stanfield said. "We'll do that for four periods. It's continuous running at various intervals in that space, whether it's five yards, seven, 15, 30, I could be standing at 50 for two and come back to seven." For two hours, sometimes three, Stanfield put Williams through the grinder. They occasionally ventured from the hole to a public park that had sand volleyball courts with the nets removed and did running and balance drills in the sand. Stanfield's boot camp was only part of Williams' work, though. He lifted weights on his own. He threw the football with current and former area high school stars, including Mi- DOWN AND DIRTY To reach the top of Notre Dame's depth chart, Kyren Williams had to get to the bottom of his lost freshman season