Where Notre Dame turns for help in Fiesta Bowl without Hamilton, Williams
Notre Dame knew it was a possibility life after Kyle Hamilton and Kyren Williams would begin before the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl vs. Oklahoma State.
It was more likely than not, even. The two stars and team captains are clear NFL talents. These days, it’s common for early round draft prospects to start their prep earlier and forego playing in bowl games. Williams and Hamilton — arguably Notre Dame’s best players on each side of the ball — announced Friday they’ll do exactly that.
Without them, the Irish are down a 1,000-yard rusher and one of the nation’s best defensive players. One of those absences is not only a change of pace, but an identity shift without the heartbeat of the offense. The other is significant too, but it’s also a continuation of the season’s second half.
Notre Dame will play its first game without Williams as its primary running back since the 2019 Camping World Bowl against Iowa State. It will play a seventh straight contest without Hamilton, who hasn’t played since the first quarter of the Oct. 23 win over USC due to a knee injury.
In a surprise, Notre Dame’s defense avoided a dip without Hamilton — an All-American — manning one of the safety spots. A combination of senior DJ Brown, sophomore Ramon Henderson and sophomore Xavier Watts filled in for him. Henderson has started the last three games.
The Irish will lean on those three again in the bowl, which serves as another chance for each member of that trio to demonstrate his in-season ascent and further his case to start next year. Each has eligibility for 2022, though Brown has not yet said if he will return for a fifth year.
At the beginning of the season, Henderson was a backup corner, Watts a deep reserve at wide receiver and Brown a No. 2 safety who struggled in 243 snaps in 2020. Neither of the sophomores played outside of special teams in the opener at Florida State. Brown’s most notable moment in that 41-38 overtime win was a bad missed tackle on Seminoles running back Jashaun Corbin’s 89-yard touchdown.
Three months later, though, Notre Dame’s defense would be in trouble without them. Brown has grown into one of the Irish’s best tacklers, and his three interceptions are tied with Hamilton for the team lead. He has missed just one tackle since the opener, per Pro Football Focus. He has 37 stops this year.
Henderson, meanwhile, made his first start Nov. 13 against Virginia and recorded four tackles, along with his first career interception. He moved to safety from cornerback the week of that game. Before then, he was used mainly in nickel and dime packages.
Watts moved from receiver the week after the opener, but didn’t debut on defense until Nov. 6 against Navy. Since then, he has averaged 20.5 snaps per game and made 11 tackles.
The depth behind Williams has been similarly promising. Freshman Logan Diggs made his season debut Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech and has rushed 43 times for 201 yards since then. A turf toe injury in that game to sophomore Chris Tyree opened the door for him. Even with Tyree back, Diggs hasn’t gone away. Those two formed a 2A and 2B tandem behind Williams.
Diggs out-carried Tyree 22 to 15 in Notre Dame’s last four games, but the latter looks fully recovered from the injury and back to top speed. He took those 15 carries for 92 yards.
If Notre Dame uses three running backs in the Fiesta Bowl, freshman Audric Estime could get a look. He has played in 11 games, but didn’t record any carries until Nov. 20 against Georgia Tech, when he rushed six times for 61 yards in mop-up duty. Most of his action has come on special teams. Senior C’Bo Flemister’s only three carries came against USC, and he has not been in uniform in Notre Dame’s last few games.
Notre Dame will, though miss Williams’ unsurpassed toughness and pound-for-pound strength against the best defense it will face this year. Oklahoma State ranks fourth in yards per play (4.41), first in sacks per game (4.15) and first in tackles for loss per game (8.69).
The Cowboys will test Notre Dame’s improved offensive line in a way no team has since No. 4 Cincinnati in early October. The running backs, in turn, might need to fight for every yard.
That was Williams’ specialty. He forced 96 missed tackles & averaged 3.5 yards after contact per carry over the last two years. This season, he averaged 3.71 yards after contact per rush and had 58 forced missed tackles. Those tied for 15th and 11th, respectively, among Football Bowl Subdivision running backs with at least 150 carries.
Williams’ and Hamilton’s absence turns the bowl into an audition for the future at running back and safety, though their fill-ins have been positives in the present already.
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