Notre Dame Football: 5 takeaways from the Irish victory over Duke
By Matt Clark
Kyren Williams is legit
When Brian Kelly and the Irish coaching staff released its official depth chart last week, many heads were turned upon learning that Kyren Williams was listed as the top running back for the Notre Dame football team in 2020.
Most experts anticipated that senior Jafar Armstrong would split duties with junior C’Bo Flemister, with fellow junior Jahmir Smith getting some touches and the talented true freshman Chris Tyree getting looks as well. The sophomore Williams was almost an afterthought, who many believed would sit behind his elder teammates and the highly recruited freshman.
Instead, the former 4-star recruit out of St. Louis, Missouri was named as the starting running back to begin the 2020 season for the Irish. Even with that news, most believed that the running game for the Irish would take a back seat to the passing game.
As a result, it was rather shocking to see the rushing attack of Notre Dame lead the way in the victory against Duke. Even more shocking was how impressive Kyren Williams was in the effort. Williams would finish the day as the leading rusher on the Notre Dame football team, carrying the ball 19 times for 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Williams had rushes of 11 yards, 10 yards, 12 yards, 14 yards, and a game-long run of 26 yards for a touchdown, showing his ability to break free for large chunks of yards seemingly at will. He was the leader on most of the Notre Dame scoring drives with his impressive running.
If his rushing performance wasn’t enough to catch the attention of Notre Dame football fans, Williams also led the team in receiving yards. He had two receptions for 93 yards. One reception went for 75 yards and the other for 18 yards.
As a high school recruit, Williams was seen as an all-purpose back as he was an excellent receiving back who had advanced field vision that allowed him to find open holes in the defense to allow him to get to the second level. He put those skills on full display against an underrated Duke defense on Saturday.
If his performance against Duke is any indication of what is to come for Kyren Williams, Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame football team look to have found themselves a legitimate lead running back for the next two seasons.