(Notre Dame) — Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are headed to the NFL. That doesn’t mean Notre Dame’s running game will be unproductive in 2026.

“I don’t know if you hear it in my voice, I’m excited, exulted Irish running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider “It’s the next man up. It’s got to be why you come to Notre Dame, to be the guy, to be the next JD, the next J-Love, and understand ‘I’m good enough too'”

Seider spoke in glowing terms of both Aneyas Williams and Nolan James, Jr., who are the two most experienced backs returning. Williams only had 24 carries last season, but ran for 225 yards and five touchdowns. James only had 30 snaps in his freshman year, but feels he has learned a lot going into this season.

“On the field, I’ve grown mentally,” notes James. “Last year, I kinda got thrown into the spring and it was hard for me to get a grasp of everything in college football. This year, I very much know what’s going on. I can see things much clearer. The game has slowed down ten-fold for me. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Seider is extremely high on the redshirt freshman from Westwood, New Jersey.

“He does such a tremendous job of doing extra, he trains like a pro,” lauds Seider. “He was ready last year. He just had to wait his turn. He’s a kid that was born to play running back. He’s really playing the game of quarterback at running back, and that’s high IQ”

The same is true for Williams, a junior from Hannibal, Missouri, who flashed as a freshman, but endured an elbow injury and having to sit behind Love and Price during his sophomore season.

“Reflecting back on the ups and downs, I just have so much more gratitude for the opportunity I have now,” admits Williams. “I knew this opportunity would come eventually. It just seemed really far away six months ago. I’m extremely fired up, trying not to look too far ahead, because we have work to do. We have extremely big shoes to fill, but they will be filled.”

“Aneyas is a natural leader,” notes Seider. “If I had a position to hire somebody right now, and he was done playing I’d hire him. He’s so competitive. He waited on this opportunity, and he’s taking full advantage of this. He’s showing the young guys, ‘I got to push myself, even with discomfort.'”

Both James and Williams are looking forward to the chance to show what they can do.

“All you can ask for is an opportunity,” declares James. “I put the work in on and off the field, before and after lifts. Opportunity is all you can ask for and I’m excited to take advantage of it.”

“I want to be the best running back I can be,” says Williams. “I want to be a leader. I want to be someone that guys can look up to and I want to leave my mark on Notre Dame. I came here for a reason. This degree means something to me, but also these people mean more to me. I couldn’t give this up at all.”

You can see the Irish running backs in action during the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium April 25.