Aneyas is a strange one. He’s the last man standing right now in that Notre Dame RB room after the top two runners declared for the draft, and Gi’Bran Payne announced he’s entering the transfer portal.
He also played more as a true freshman in 2024 than 2025, though not by much. In 2024, he played in 15 games (which helped bolster his numbers), rushing 34 times for 219 yards and two scores, which was not too different from his 2025 output.
However, where things were very different was in his aerial usage. In ‘24, he caught 18 of 23 targets for 172 yards. In ‘25, he was only targeted twice, and he caught both passes for 40 yards (15 and 25-yard receptions). So apparently, he has that in his repertoire, but just wasn’t utilized that way with CJ Carr at QB. This isn’t a major concern for me, and I’d expect him to see more targets in 2026.
He provided perhaps a glimpse of what could be to come in his final appearance this season vs. Stanford in week 14, rushing 10 times for 83 yards and two scores while catching his only aforementioned two passes for 40 yards total (26.3 CFF points in PPR formats).
His other big performance this year came versus Navy in Week 11, where he took five carries for 72 yards and a score (54-yard TD run).
Williams finished 2025 with only 24 rushing attempts for 224 yards and five TDs (which is actually pretty good tuddy production in 12 games for the arguable third-string back).
The Irish will be replacing 312 carries through Jerimyah Love and Jadarian Price, and over 1,900 rushing yards (not to mention 29 rushing scores). They’re also losing over 360 receiving yards and five more scores.
It remains to be seen what head coach Marcus Freeman will be doing in 2026, but I do think if he returns, Williams could fill in as a similar commodity to one of Freeman’s old pigs—Kyren Williams.
In fact, Aneyas was compared to Kyren when coming out of high school by 247’s Allen Trieu:
Has had an excellent high school career and been dominant against the competition. Compact, sturdy build. All-around back who can catch the ball and line up as a slot.
Shows vision and acceleration as a runner. Is not just a pass catcher as far as screens and swing passes, but can actually run downfield routes and wins contested balls despite not being a taller target. Shift and can make defenders miss. Solid, but not elite top end speed right now.
Can contribute as a return man also. Should be a very good college player because he can be moved around and used in a variety of ways to help an offense.
