2026 has already been an extremely interesting year for Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams. Starting the year as RB1, he looked like he was headed for the doghouse, but his performance against Purdue likely has him back as the starter. Meanwhile, he had a bit of a dust-up with head coach Marcus Freeman.
Williams scored a touchdown against Michigan State, which led to him and his offensive line teammates doing a choreographed celebration that was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. After the flag, Freeman blew his top and was seen yelling at Williams on the sideline.
The situation led to Freeman eventually apologizing at his weekly press conference the Monday after the game. Still, Williams was Purdue's backup running back, but after starter Nolan James Jr. struggled, it appears Williams has won the job again. That’s likely why he seemed much more relaxed when he met with the media Tuesday evening.
During his appearance after Notre Dame’s latest practice, Williams explained his side of the excessive celebration issue and admitted that he didn’t do things the right way.
Aneyas Williams takes responsibility for sideline clash and reclaims Notre Dame football starting job
“I would say I’ve got to learn to be more proactive. It was one of those things we had planned for a while. The only thing I would change would be running it through Freeman first and having him figure out if this is something that's cool or if it's not going to be allowed,” Williams said while defending a dance number the offensive line has confirmed was something they came up with.
In fact, several offensive linemen have approached numerous players to set up the celebration. Apparently, the problem is that no one talked to any coaches to make sure they wouldn’t get yelled at if and when they did it.
“That's the biggest thing. But me and 'Free' have a great relationship. It was definitely made bigger than what it was just through the media. He texted me right after the game. I knew I messed up. As soon as they threw the flag, I was like, 'Oh, I hear it.' I was completely prepared for everything that came with it. That's a mistake that I made—look him in the eyes and apologize, and it won't happen again."
This should be the last time anyone has to talk about something that now happened several weeks ago. Notre Dame has more important things to focus on and the players have learned their lesson.
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