Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY N otre Dame football fans looking forward to seeing highly touted wide receiver recruit Cam Wil- liams in action might have to bide their time. Despite being one of the most prom- ising prospects in the 2024 recruiting cycle, Williams — On3's No. 10 wide receiver and No. 64 overall player na- tionally — entered this season at the bottom of the Fighting Irish's wide re- ceiver depth chart. The offseason additions of gradu- ate transfers Beaux Collins (Clemson), Jayden Harrison (Marshall) and Kris Mitchell (Florida International) are the reason why the talented Williams may find it difficult to earn snaps this fall. He will not be the only promis- ing first-year player subject to limited snaps in 2024. If the roster plays out as planned, most of head coach Marcus Freeman's latest recruiting class should be able to preserve an extra year of eligi- bility by redshirting this season. They have the NCAA to thank for that and the undesired decreased playing time that comes with it. As a result of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA awarded an extra year of eligibility to those who played during that season. It gives the Irish an unprecedented number of fifth- and sixth-year players in 2024. Graduate students comprise a sixth (14) of the 85-man scholarship roster. Ten of them are sixth-year guys, mean- ing they began their college career in 2019. Notre Dame's freshman class was in the seventh grade then. However, do not consider Freeman's second full recruiting class as head coach underwhelming. It is the opposite. Williams (No. 64 overall prospect) is one of six Irish signees that were rated among the top 100 players in their class by On3, joining offensive tackle Guerby Lambert (No. 18), defensive lineman Bryce Young (No. 42), running back Kedren Young (No. 79), linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (No. 83), and offensive line- men Anthonie Knapp (No. 97). Over the last 15 years, the Irish have only hit that mark one other time — in 2011, when they inked six top-100 recruits in the On3 Industry Ranking. (On3 did not begin ranking players until its inception in 2021.) Besides Knapp and maybe Williams, each top-100 player has a pathway to contributing in their first college foot- ball season. If the other 17 members of Notre Dame's class do not see the field this fall, it is because of unprecedented circumstances four years ago that led to a veteran-laden roster. Here are the freshmen well-posi- tioned to contribute, some who could breakthrough and others who should not have to play in 2024. READY FOR ACTION Ready or not, Aneyas Williams will be thrust into action this fall. The former four-star running back out of Hannibal (Mo.) High — no relation to Cam Wil- liams — entered the preseason depth chart third behind sophomore Jeremi- yah Love and junior Jadarian Price. He ended up No. 3 in the pecking or- der after junior running back Gi'Bran Payne tore his ACL in the Blue-Gold Game April 20. Williams' pedigree gives him the ability to produce. He was On3's No. 9 recruit in Missouri and No. 24 running back in America in the 2024 cycle. Williams was a 4,000-yard rusher, and also racked up 3,000 receiv- ing yards, in high school. On3 ranked Lufkin (Texas) High's Ke- dren Young as the No. 5 running back in the country. However, a hamstring injury hindered Young's spring, questioning the extent of his availability going into the fall. Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco's Viliamu-Asa, the highest-rated de- fender in Notre Dame's 2024 recruiting class and On3's No. 6 linebacker na- Cam Williams, On3's No. 10 wide receiver and No. 64 overall recruit in the country, possesses the talent to be a go-to wide receiver at the college level but may find his playing time blocked by a trio of gradu- ate transfers in 2024. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER ON STANDBY Notre Dame's talented freshman class may have to wait to realize its full potential