Kyren Williams, Shaun Crawford rave about how Notre Dame prepared them for the NFL — on and off the field
It’s widely known that Notre Dame prepares athletes for life after sports. It’s also widely known that Notre Dame prepares football players for the NFL. The latter note is typically referring to on-field play, but according to a couple of Irish players, the lessons from the former trickle into the latter.
Last week, former Notre Dame and current Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams joined Shaun Crawford on the Varsity House Podcast. During a discussion concerning the Irish football program and former head coach Brian Kelly, Williams and Crawford took a moment to publicly recognize the structure and demands set up at Notre Dame as a reason they were able to mesh quickly with their respective NFL teams.
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Crawford shared his experience from last spring when he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after six years of college football.
“That’s one of the big things I learned last year,” Crawford said. “When I walked in the building (in Las Vegas), it was just an extension of Notre Dame. You know when you come to meetings, you have to have a notebook. You know how to take notes already when you get there. You know how to sit up and be attentive in the meeting rooms.
“I think the whole (Notre Dame) staff prepares you for the league. Once you get there next week and you get rolling, I feel like you’re going to be ahead of the game just because of that foundation.”
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Williams did the interview from Florida where he is training, but he had obviously been in contact with the Rams several times by that point. The 5-11, 199 pounder had already picked up on the fact that he is certainly prepared for what lies in front of him, due in part to the structure he experienced at Notre Dame. And he’s already paying it forward.
The running back recently offered the same advice to Justin and Jayson Ademilola, twin brothers and defensive linemen who elected to return to Notre Dame for a fifth year due to in part to NFL aspirations.
“I just told the twins that too,” Williams said. “Stay on everything you’re doing because if you perfect it now, you’re already going be set for the future and the NFL. Everything they’re saying in these meetings (with the Rams) is something we did every day (at Notre Dame).
“They’re talking about coming into the building early to get in the ice or the hot tub. That I was damn near mandatory at Notre Dame. Everybody just did that by rule because the (upperclassmen) did it. It’s something we already know to do. It prepared us.”
