SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the record, Aneyas Williams didn’t even come up with the “Crank the Lawnmower” end-zone celebration that drew a flag two weeks ago against Michigan State.
The Notre Dame offensive line approached the junior running back with the idea, and he agreed. So when Williams bounced off a Spartans defender and rolled across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown run Sept. 19, he motioned to the linemen. They each pulled an arm back a few times like they were starting a lawnmower and then danced.
The entire thing lasted all of six seconds, harmless it seemed. They thought it fell within coach Marcus Freeman’s rules — celebrate together and then hand the ball to the officiating crew. But an official flung a flag in the air behind them. Too choreographed, an ACC representative later told Freeman.
“If we could go back and do it again, we would ask Free and have him get it approved,” Williams said Tuesday after practice. “But, yeah, man, you live and you learn from it.”
At the moment the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called, moving Notre Dame’s ensuing kickoff back 15 yards, Freeman was incensed at the celebration, animatedly yelling at Williams, “What are we doing?”
Freeman later apologized to Williams and his mother for how he reacted and again at his weekly news conference. While he wants his players to be smart about celebrations and he needed to correct Williams, it also didn’t sit well that people saw that interaction on TV without knowing their relationship, which goes back to Williams’ sophomore year of high school.
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Williams said Freeman’s follow-ups showed his character.
“That holds a lot of weight,” Williams said. “It meant a lot to me and to my mom. He didn’t have to do that. I knew me and Freeman were good. My mom knew everything was going to be fine.
“Obviously, Freeman didn’t like the way he reacted, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think I deserved it.”
No. 3 Notre Dame didn’t have many bumps in cruising to a 4-0 record in September against lesser competition entering Saturday’s game at North Carolina (2-1). That minor viral hiccup passed easily because of Freeman’s apologies and Williams owning up to his mistake.
It helped, too, that Williams came back Saturday against Purdue and totaled 80 yards on 14 carries, including a 22-yard touchdown — Notre Dame’s first rush for more than 20 yards this season.
The Irish haven’t had the smoothest transition in the running game to the post-Jeremiyah Love era.
In their first first four games without the 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist, Notre Dame averaged 141.8 rushing yards per game and 4.1 per carry behind Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr. Entering the Purdue game, the Irish’s longest carry was 17 yards, though Freeman thinks his backs have shown the ability to be hard, vertical runners in short-yardage situations.
Freeman told reporters at his weekly news conference that he believes the running game is improving as they make schematic adjustments based on what the offensive line and running backs do best. The entire group is getting comfortable with each other, he said.
And the Purdue game showed more explosive-play ability. In addition to Williams’ 22-yard touchdown, Jonaz Walton broke off a 44-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Williams echoed that it’s a work in progress but said everyone in the room is looking for “team glory” as they stay ready for their opportunities. The Irish face a North Carolina run defense this week that’s allowing 123 rushing yards per game (62nd in the FBS) and 3.4 yards per carry (46th).
“It’s two new guys working a new scheme, and we’re just trying to figure out what works best for this team,” Williams said. “You’ve got two different backs and it’s a week-by-week thing, and that’s what we’re figuring out. We were finally able to bring a little bit of that to light, and we’re going to be even better next week.”
Williams and James entered the season under a lot of scrutiny given the impact their predecessors, Love and Jadarian Price, made last season on the Notre Dame offense.
That duo helped Notre Dame average 203.4 rushing yards per game and 5.7 per carry in 2025. Either Love or Price — or both — was good for a highlight-reel run almost every game.
Williams was an obvious successor after rushing for 443 yards and seven touchdowns over his first two seasons as a backup. He entered 2026 with a lot of confidence, but he also had expectations for what he wanted to do with his heightened opportunity.
“He has a lot on his plate, man, and a lot of expectations,” Freeman said at his news conference before the Purdue game. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself to be this great running back and he just works tremendously. And I’m really proud of who he is, the way he goes about his business, the leadership that he leads with.”
His results, along with those of James, have been uneven so far.
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Williams rushed for 90 and 29 yards in the first two games against Wisconsin and Rice. He totaled only 25 yards and the touchdown against Michigan State, while James had 26 carries for 121 yards.
But after James started against the Boilermakers, Williams helped Notre Dame total a season-high 177 rushing yards against a poor Purdue run defense.
As he tries to live up to his own standards, Williams has tried to keep in mind that he needs to be himself and play football the way he knows how.
“Understanding I’m not in this thing on my own was the biggest thing,” he said. “Like it’s not just me. I’ve got all the guys in the room behind me. I’ve got my coach backing me. I’ve got Coach Free. I’ve got everybody at my back.
“There’s no pressure. I’m just going out there and playing the game that I love. That was the biggest thing for me to get back was not making anything more than it is.”
After the Purdue game, Freeman said he was proud of Williams for how he responded following the Michigan State game. The week didn’t faze him, Freeman said, and he worked the way he always does.
Among the rewards was that 22-yard touchdown run, on which Williams shot through a huge hole up the middle and charged into the end zone untouched. He had a feeling early in the play it could be a big score.
“Once we saw the light box and the linebacker that I was reading disappeared, and all I (saw) was green grass,” Williams said. “So that was nice. It was good to see.”
Williams’ celebration after that one was to hug his teammates, and Freeman responded with a big smile.
Right guard Sullivan Absher was in the middle of both that end-zone party and the lawnmower dance. He said the Irish will try to be more spontaneous with celebrations moving forward and acknowledged it was probably appropriate to repay Williams somehow for persuading him to do the one that was penalized.
Absher recently got back into sports card collecting, so he figures if he ever pulls an Aneyas Williams card, he’ll pass it along to him.
“I mean, they owe me one,” Williams said. “I took the blow for them, but we’re past it for sure.”