Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2026 27 role. How Knapp handled the move was just another example of the leadership he provides on the offensive line. "I think the most genuine leadership is when you see a guy and you say, 'I want to be like that guy,'" Rudolph said. "And I think he does that for everyone. I don't think he does it just for the guys in the O-line room. I think he does it for the guys on the team. "He's a guy when you watch him and you're like, 'Yeah, I want to be like that. I want to bring that mentality. I want to have that physicality. I want to have that detail. I want to have the resiliency to bounce back.' "He's been great, but I think that is what he brings every play." With Notre Dame losing a pair of cap- tains from last season on the offensive line — right tackle Aamil Wagner and left guard Billy Schrauth — to the NFL, Knapp would make a lot of sense as a captain for the Irish in 2026. TIME FOR WILLIAMS Aneyas Williams filled the same spot on Notre Dame's running back depth chart in 2025 as he did in 2024. But be- ing the third-string back last season looked much different than it did the prior season. Williams, who rushed 34 times for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 172 yards in 2024, didn't get as many opportunities to impact the offense behind eventual first-round picks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in 2025. He still made the most of his opportunities in blowout victories last season with 224 yards and 5 touch- downs on 24 carries. Though it will be hard to replace Love and Price, Williams won't lower his ex- pectations for the running back group. "With JD and J-Love gone, obviously the opportunity is there," Williams said. "We're looking to replace these guys. We're not looking to take any steps back at all in the running back room. I trust these guys, all of us, to go out there and do that." Williams will enter the fall at the head of a pack that also features red- shirt sophomore Kedren Young, redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr., and fresh- men Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne. Williams was held out of full-contact action in the spring while he recovered from a surgery on his right elbow, but he often blurred the line of how limited he should be while wearing a red jersey. Williams played in the Blue-Gold Game, but his teammates weren't sup- posed to fully tackle him. The next time he plays in Notre Dame Stadium, he could finally get his chance in the start- ing lineup. "The position that I'm finally in that I've been waiting for the last two years, I couldn't just sit there and watch," Wil- liams said. "I felt really good. I felt like I could go." UNLOCKING YOUNG'S POTENTIAL The leap many expected Bryce Young to make as a sophomore in 2025 turned out to be a smaller step forward. After he played in all 16 games as a freshman, including 374 defensive snaps, Young began last season in the starting lineup at Miami. But he never found himself in that starting role again. Cementing himself in the starting lineup this fall won't be easy either. The addition of Alabama transfer Keon Keeley added competition to the posi- tion after Joshua Burnham hit the trans- fer portal to Indiana. That should push Young to be more productive in his de- velopment. "I think he's doing a good job of playing physical on the edge in the run game," said new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge. "He's getting re- ally much better at that. Still a work in progress, but he's got great length. He can move, he can bend. So I do think he has a ceiling that we're still working towards." Though Young only tallied a pair of sacks in 12 games last season, Pro Foot- ball Focus credited him with 29 pres- sures, which was second on the Irish behind defensive end Boubacar Traore (31). Young totaled 20 tackles but didn't have any tackles for loss beyond his sacks. He's working to find more con- sistency to broaden his impact. "There's a difference between traits and what flashes," Young said. "Right now, the biggest goal for me is to turn what flashes on tape and turn them into traits in my play style. That's the biggest thing." ✦ Aneyas Williams, the presumptive starter at running back heading into the 2026 season, showed flashes of brilliance his first two seasons as a reserve. He rushed for 443 yards and 7 touchdowns while averag- ing 7.6 yards per carry. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER