Kyren Williams tore up the track at Notre Dame as he was one of the nation’s top running backs in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Williams ran for 2,127 yards over those two seasons with 27 over his 415 rushing attempts ending with him celebrating in the end zone.

Williams entered the NFL draft in 2022 despite having eligibility remaining in college. Everyone seemed to know it was coming and it was clearly the right thing to do.

Despite not getting selected until the fifth round with the 164th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams, Williams has made his case as one of the NFL’s most talented running backs already.

Kyren Williams Makes NFL Top 100 List

The Los Angeles Rams running back was named the 78th best player in the entire NFL according to his peers on Tuesday evening.

Williams is coming off a year that he rushed for 1,144 yards in 2023, the third-most in the NFL. Those yards also accounted for 12 rushing touchdowns in Williams’ breakout second season. His 95.3 rushing yards per game were the highest in the NFL last season.

Like at Notre Dame, Williams was used in the passing game by the Rams as he hauled in 32 receptions for 206 more yards and three touchdowns last season.

Former Notre Dame Coach’s Connection to NFL Leading Rushers

As I stated above, Kyren Williams finished the 2023 NFL season with the third-most rushing yards in the NFL.

Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers led the league with 1,459 rushing yards while Derrick Henry put up 1,167 to just sneak by Williams’ 1,144.

Passionate Notre Dame fans might realize that a former Notre Dame assistant coach was the college running backs coach of two of the league’s top-three rushers last season.

Lance Taylor, who coached Notre Dame’s running backs from 2019-2021, obviously coached Williamd during their time together in South Bend.

Taylor also coached Christian McCaffrey at Stanford as well as with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL.

I can’t say I’m familiar with Western Michigan football’s recruiting habits but I’m guessing that fact is included on any and all information it sends to potential recruits.

Kyren Williams Notre Dame Highlights

Kyren Williams was a flat-out playmaker at Notre Dame.

From his game-opening touchdown run in the 2020 upset of Clemson to his unreal touchdown run against North Carolina in 2021, Williams was a threat each time he touched the ball in blue and gold.

Take a moment and watch some of Kyren Williams’ best highlights at Notre Dame below:

I wonder if any of those who kept him from being a Doak Walker semifinalist during his two big years at Notre Dame realize they were wrong yet.

Related Links:
Former Notre Dame All-American makes NFL Top 100 for first time

Notre Dame’s Projected Offensive Depth Chart Ahead of 2024 Season