Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams Has Cool Interaction with NFL Great
Growing up in the St. Louis area, Notre Dame star running back Kyren Williams idolized former Rams great Steven Jackson. Earlier this week, Williams retweeted a picture of himself as a child meeting Jackson. Jackson saw it and responded.
Here’s Williams’s original tweet of him meeting Jackson as a kid.
A few hours later, Jackson saw it and responded.
It’s just another step in Williams’s meteoric rise this year. A year ago, Williams redshirted as a freshman before bursting on to the scene this year with 1,011 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns (12 rushing, 1 receiving) in just ten games.
Because Jackson’s career ended with a whimper with stops in Atlanta and New England, people might forget just how nasty he was in his prime. Jackson ranks 18th all-time in rushing yards in NFL history with 11,438. He also racked up an additional 3,683 receiving over his career while scoring a combined 78 touchdowns. During an eight-year stretch from 2005-2012, Jackson was one of the NFL’s elite running backs, topping 1,000 yards in each of those eight seasons.
Only time will tell whether or not Williams follows Jackon’s footsteps of being an all-time great, but he is undoubtedly on his way towards an NFL future. Assuming Williams finishes out this season strong – and there is nothing to indicate he won’t – he could be in the NFL as soon as 2022 with a repeat performance next fall for the Irish. That is part of the reason why it’s so crucial for Notre Dame to land two running backs in this recruiting cycle.
Until then, though, we have plenty of time to enjoy more of Williams’s highlights, which will hopefully only be added to this weekend and in the next few weeks.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Notre Dame fans worry too much? Before the season they doubted there’d be a good # 1 rb? I told them, “Out of the good rbs on campus, at least one will probably step up in 2020, and Tyree will likely average 6 yards a carry.” There’s enough returning rb. talent, that even if ND fans in the 2021 recruiting class, which is highly unlikely, they will certainly hit a couple of home runs in 2022.
Way to go Mike!