Someone Hannibal’s Williams won’t ever get back but won’t ever forget drives him as Notre Dame running back

EDITOR’S NOTE: Aneyas Williams rushed for 62 yards on three carries, including a 58-yard touchdown, during Saturday night’s 49-14 victory over Army at Yankee Stadium. This story appeared on Blue & Gold Illustrated during the week before the Army game.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Aneyas Williams doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve. He’s rather stoic, a slick smile signifying his every mood. The Notre Dame freshman running back wears a tattoo under his sleeve, though, serving as a reminder of who he should and shouldn’t be.

It’s a newspaper-script font “W” with barbed wire branching out from either side, connecting his bicep to his triceps, connecting him to a father he hasn’t known for more than eight years.

Williams’ dad, Lydell Williams, died of a heart issue brought on by substance abuse in Sept. 2016. He was 38. Aneyas was 10. A sixth-grader.

A pallbearer.

Lydell, barbed wire and a big “W” covering his arm, went to Georgia to get his life on track in his mid-30s. He never returned. He wasn’t around his son much for his final four years. 

The memory of him, his accomplishments, who he was before his demise? That never left.

Aneyas knew just who his dad was, and, in a sense, he was exactly who Aneyas wanted to be — one of the best football and track stars to ever attend Hannibal (Mo.) High School.

“Hannibal is 100 percent a football town,” Hannibal coach Jeff Gschwender told Blue & Gold Illustrated. “And when one of your legends dies, it’s a pretty big deal around here. I’m sure that did affect Aneyas quite a bit.”

It did. It drove him.

“After dad passed, I feel his drive for his dreams grew even bigger,” Aneyas’ sister, Alivia Williams, told Blue & Gold. 

Soon into his freshman year, Aneyas realized he had what it took — the innate athleticism and undying determination to match — to eventually become a legend of his own.

But that’s when the boy who hardly displayed his feelings, the boy who scored four touchdowns in his first varsity game, let his guard down and let it all out.

After his awe-inspiring debut performance, Aneyas gave his mother, Sarah Williams, a huge hug in front of everybody, tears flooding down his face for all to see — if he could ever lift his head off his mom’s shoulder.

He couldn’t. Didn’t want to. Why would he?

“When he broke down on that field, I think it was kind of like, ‘Man, this sucks. I’m happy, I want to share this with my mom, but I also want to share this with my dad. There is a part of me that’s missing,’” Sarah told Blue & Gold. “I think that kind of followed him here to Notre Dame.

“Each accomplishment. Each offer. Decision day. His first touchdown. There is a certain part of him — he’s proud, he’s happy — but there is a certain part of him that’s missing.”

‘That Kid’

Lydell played at Missouri Southern State University. His talent was always going to take him to the next level.

Aneyas? More than talent.

His everything was always going to take him to the next level.

“Every single year you have kids, I don’t care what game, what sport you coach, but especially football, where it’s like, ‘My goodness, man. If this kid’s body had this kid’s brain, he’d be a heck of a player,’” Gschwender said. “’If this kid’s brain had this kid’s body, could you imagine?’ Aneyas was that kid that had the brain and the body that was, like, ‘This is that kid, this is that combination that every coach is always looking for.’”

Aneyas has a unique knack for taking a coaching cue, Gschwender said, and enacting it immediately, like it’s the coach himself conducting an instructional rep. Only it’s the real thing, full speed, defensive players in hot pursuit, and Aneyas pulls off exactly what’s being asked of him.

Gschwender recalled sitting in his office late on Friday nights — er, early on Saturday mornings — reviewing film from the game played hours earlier. He’d text Aneyas pointers as simple as “hit your landmark better next time.”

Monday morning? Landmark met.

“That’s something that may not seem like a whole lot, but boy, when you’ve been coaching for a while, that’s a big deal,” Gschwender said.

You can read the rest of this story at Blue and Gold Illustrated.