Running Back Aneyas Williams Can Do It All For Notre Dame

Notre Dame received a huge boost to their 2024 recruiting class when Hannibal (Mo.) High School star running back Aneyas Williams committed to the Irish over his finalists of Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. It’s easy to see how impressive of a recruit Williams is. You can look up his recruiting rankings and box score to quickly understand.

To understand how great of a fit it truly is, his head coach at Hannibal, Jason Noland, gave some insight into what makes the 5-10, 195-pound athlete so special. From every perspective, it appears like a seamless fit.

"Notre Dame is getting an all around football player, and even better person,” Noland said. "He is a young man who made Second Team All State as an all purpose player as a freshman. Then as a sophomore, he made First Team All State as a wide receiver and made it as a running back this season.

"Aneyas has literally been named All State in three different positions,” Noland continued. "Whether it is as a running back, in the slot, as the No. 1 receiver, he can do anything for an offense.”

There is no question that Williams is talented, but he doesn’t just rest on his natural ability. The attention to detail is what will be a huge help to him early in his Irish career.

"As a person, Aneyas is a tireless worker,” said the Hannibal head coach. "He has also really evolved as a leader for this team. He knows what he needs to be successful and Notre Dame is that perfect fit for him.”

Looking back to Noland’s first introduction to Williams, the Hannibal staff quickly knew how special he could be. His impact was felt almost immediately.

"Aneyas had a substantial reputation playing junior high ball,” Noland explained. "We kept hearing that he was going to be the real deal, the best we have had around here in awhile. You hear that kind of stuff pretty often so there’s obviously some skepticism.

"It was early in his freshman year, going through some off-season workouts,” Noland continued. "We quickly realized that they weren’t lying. It was clear that he was the real deal.”

That off-season work then began on the field production in that freshman year. From there, he has become one of the top running backs in the nation.

"In the first game of his freshman year, he scored the first touchdown on our first drive of the season,” he said. "From that first game, he showed that he was going to be special. It was about the middle of the season when we knew that we could really start to open the playbook because Aneyas could handle it.”

It isn’t just his abilities on the field that make Willians special according to Coach Noland. The maturity he boasts is well beyond his years. That is what impressed schools the most.

"That was the thing that recruiters and schools were so impressed with,” Noland explained. "For as young as he is, Aneyas is such a mature and attentive young man. He’s a great kid, great student and really knows what’s important for him to be successful.”

Williams comes from a school that isn’t often in this position. The whole Hannibal community understands how unique, and special, this is. It’s a big moment for everyone involved.

"The community is so excited for him,” stated Noland. "We haven’t had an athlete recruited to this high of a level for a long time. The last recruit who was this highly coveted was in the late 70s and early 80s.

"It’s going to be a special moment for us all.”

Despite playing in just nine games as a junior, Williams put together another dominant season for Hannibal. He exploded for 1,999 total yards during the campaign, including scoring 34 touchdowns on the year. Williams has scored touchdowns as a runner, receiver, returner and on defense during his varsity career.

Following his sophomore season, there was some skepticism about Williams considering the level of competition that he faces off against weekly in Missouri. Williams would turn to the camp circuit that off-season, routinely impressing each staff he came in contact with.

The offers began to roll in. Heading into his decision, Williams had to weed through an impressive offer list that included the Irish, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State, Nebraska, Oregon, Ole Miss, Penn State, Arkansas, Michigan State, Missouri, Iowa, Boston College, Northwestern, and Cal among others.

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