Kyren Williams Named A Freshman All-American

Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams piled up a lot of awards after his breakout 2020 season, and the latest was a Freshman All-American honor from the Football Writers Association of America.

Williams is a sophomore at Notre Dame, but he was a freshman this season from an eligibility standpoint, which is how he ended up on this list. The St. Louis native rushed for 1,125 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season, which were both the second best single-season totals of the Brian Kelly era in South Bend. Only Josh Adams (1,430 yards in 2017) and Brandon Wimbush (14 rushing touchdowns in 2017) had better single-season marks in the last 11 seasons.

Those 13 rushing touchdowns tied Reggie Brooks (1992) for the ninth best single-season rushing mark in Notre Dame history. Williams topped 100 yards rushing in six games, which tied Darius Walker (2006), Lee Becton (1993) and Allen Pinkett (1985) for seventh all-time in a single season.

Williams was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year for his 2020 performance, which included hauling in 35 passes for 313 yards and another score.

Williams was named a second-team running back by the Associated Press and the league, and he also earned second-team All-American honors from Sporting News.

Notre Dame's staff decided to redshirt Williams during the 2019 season despite the position being banged up for much of the season. He carried the ball just four times for 26 yards that season and played in only four games, which allowed him to keep freshman eligibility in 2020.

Notre Dame standout tight end Michael Mayer has earned multiple freshman All-American awards, but for whatever reason the FWAA didn't include a tight end on its All-American list.

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