Herbstreit: Missouri native Aneyas Williams key player to watch in CFP National Championship

Hannibal standout has had game-breaking moments as true freshman at Notre Dame

Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams (20) gets hoisted in the air after scoring a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were planning to unleash true freshman running back Aneyas Williams as sort of a secret weapon in Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship game against Ohio State, it's probably not much of a secret anymore.

During a lookahead of Monday's national title game that aired during Sunday's Preseason NFC Countdown show on ESPN, College Gameday analyst and national college football guru Kirk Herbstreit named Williams "the player to watch" who could have a major impact in Monday's game.

The No. 7 Fighting Irish take on the No. 8 Buckeyes at 6:30 p.m. central inside Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

After putting together one of the best high school careers of any running back in Missouri state history - racking up 7,504 combined yards (4,255 rushing, 3,249 receiving with 155 total touchdowns - at Hannibal, Williams (5-foot-10, 206 pounds) is already making his mark in college football history.

Missouri natives key Notre Dame’s game-tying drive in Orange Bowl’s CFP Semifinal

In the third quarter of the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium in a College Football Playoff Semifinal against Penn State, Williams hauled in a perfect over-the-shoulder pass from quarterback Riley Leonard for 36 yards with 12:39 left in the third and followed with a 15-yard run on the next play to set up first down at the Penn State 4. Leonard scored two plays later to tie it at 10.

The series impacted not only the CFP and Notre Dame history but also proved to Irish head coach Marcus Freeman that the youngster can be counted on in big moments. Thus, as Herbstreit put it, makes him likely to be counted on again in other big moments on Monday.

The four-star recruit has seen limited, but valuable time in all 13 games so farfor the Irish, racking up 219 rushing yards on 32 carries (6.3 average) and two touchdowns. He also has 172 yards receiving.

He scored his first career touchdown on a 19-yard run against Stanford on Oct. 19. His biggest game, however, came against Army when he rushed three times for 62 yards, breaking a career-high 58-yard touchdown run in the process.

He had four touches in the Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia.

Williams was a four-star recruit and a four-time all-state, all-conference and all-district selection coming out of Hannibal. A three-sport star with the Pirates, Williams earned four letters in football, three in track and field and one in baseball.

He was selected as the Missouri Coaches Association 2023 Class 4 Offensive Player of the Year and helped lead the Pirates to a district championship as a freshman and state runner-up finish as a sophomore.