Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2024 63 2024 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE earning him 2020 Missouri Coaches Football Association Class 4 second- team all-state honors with the "athlete" designation. "He tore it up in the weight room and got up to 180 pounds by the start of his freshman year," Gschwender continued. "He came on the scene and immediately was a part of it. There was no question from day one of practice that he was a varsity player. "He scored our first touchdown of the season of his freshman year on a 45-yard rush. He never slowed down from there." Williams became a household name in Hannibal at such a young age and had the pressure to perform at a high level for three more seasons. In a small town of less than 20,000 people, Williams was a popular figure, and soon enough, his recruiting started to take off. Just before he started his sophomore season, he earned a head-turning first scholar- ship offer. "Being named all-state as a fresh- man puts your name on the map," noted Gschwender. "And then he went to a camp at the University of Oregon, and they were blown away. When he left that camp, they said an offer is on the table as soon as it's available. And when that happened, everyone said, 'This kid is the real deal.' It generated a lot of attention. "His sophomore season came, and that was his true breakout year. He was truly dominant, whether he was at re- ceiver or running back. He was a first- team all-state receiver. "Then he was invited down to the All- American Combine in San Antonio, and there were a lot of scout eyes on him. Everything blew up for him after that. It was a whirlwind of big-time schools — Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame." It wouldn't be until the spring before his junior year that Williams would start seeing more offers pour in. In April 2022, Nebraska became the second Power Five school to offer him. A few others ex- tended scholarships, and then Alabama offered him on the first day of June that year, and that really put the country on notice. Williams attended Notre Dame's camp on June 5, 2022, and he picked up an offer from the Fighting Irish that day after a strong outing. The offers may have come in a bit later than anticipated, but it wasn't some- thing that Williams let affect him. His focus was always on his high school team. "He's the type of kid you don't get very often — maybe once in your career," said Gschwender. "Aneyas has such God- given talent, but he also has an incred- ible work ethic. He showed the younger kids that it doesn't always matter how good you naturally are — you can always get better by being the hardest worker." While Hannibal didn't win a state championship with Williams, it made deep playoff runs each season. And his experience with the Pirates as a multi- faceted running back who has played in big games at the high school level — combined with his impressive talent — makes him a prime candidate to play as a true freshman in South Bend. "I absolutely think he can come in and make an impact his freshman year," Gschwender stated. "You won't hand the ball to him 25 times a game, but he never really did that at the high school level. We always that had the workhorse guy who ran the ball the majority of the time, and Aneyas would touch the ball 10 to 15 times per game. "You can do a lot of different things with him. We even used him as an out- side receiver this season, and he was dominant out there. He can run routes with your top receivers." ✦ ANEYAS WILLIAMS RUNNING BACK 5-10 ∙ 207 HANNIBAL H.S. HANNIBAL, MO. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 24 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 26 7 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 149 4 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 23 7 STATISTICS • Finished his prep career with 477 carries for 4,255 yards, 177 receptions for 3,249 yards and 152 total touchdowns. His touchdowns and 937 total points are both the second most in Missouri high school football history. • Set 18 school records, including the follow- ing single-season totals: receptions (63), receiv- ing yards (1,297) and receiving touchdowns (24), which he accomplished as a sophomore in 2021. • Notched 168 carries for 1,415 yards (8.4 yards per rush) and 27 touchdowns, plus added 44 catches for 816 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 17 scores as a senior. • Posted 1,999 all-purpose yards and 34 touch- downs in just 9 games as a junior. • Had 2,756 all-purpose yards and accounted for 47 touchdowns during his sophomore season. NOTABLE • Named the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and the Missouri Coaches Association's Class 4 Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. • Was twice named Keokuk Hannibal Quincy Area (KHQA) Player of the Year, the first player to ever win the award twice. • Is a four-time all-state, all-conference and all- district honoree. RECRUITMENT • Committed to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 16, 2022. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January. • Also held offers from Alabama, Missouri and Oregon, among many others. • Recruited by running backs coach Deland Mc- Cullough. • Visited Notre Dame 12 times, including his of- ficial visit on June 16, 2023. 2024 PROJECTION • With his versatility as an offensive weapon and special teams experience, he may play a good bit as a true freshman. THEY SAID IT Head coach Marcus Freeman: "I remember when Aneyas came here for camp, we had not offered him. He was here with a lot of great pros- pects, and he was the best one. We offered him at that camp. Then he went on to get a whole bunch of offers. "He is a very unique player that believed in Notre Dame and also in the development that Deland McCullough would do for him. We have a history of producing great running backs, and Deland Mc- Cullough has a history of continuing to develop great running backs. "There were a lot of people pulling at Aneyas, but he stayed strong. He continued to come over here and be a part of this thing. I'm really excited to have him here." National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "He can do it all. Williams can run, catch and block, and has had phenomenal stats. This is a major catch for Notre Dame. I think he's a guy who can come in and play right away as a freshman. He reminds me of Blake Corum over at Michigan — and build-wise, like [former Notre Dame tailback] Kyren Williams. I'm really impressed with him. "He's very confident. Williams is a good, all- around back. I'm worried a bit about the competi- tion, — if he did the same thing in St. Louis, you'd give him five stars. I was really impressed when I saw him in person. I like his confidence. He's the biggest star they've had in Hannibal for years."