Blue & Gold’s Notre Dame assistant coach recruiter of the year: Deland McCullough

Second-year Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough has been named Blue & Gold’s assistant coach recruiter of the year for his efforts in the 2024 class.

Notre Dame signed one of the best running back tandems in the nation this morning, with Hannibal (Mo.) High’s Aneyas Williams and Lufkin (Texas) High’s Kedren Young inking with the Irish.

This superlative is not one that Blue & Gold takes lightly. There were internal discussions and chats with various sources about who the best choice for this would be. McCullough was the unanimous favorite.

According to the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking, Williams is the nation’s No. 276 overall player and No. 21 running back. The Irish needed to hold off Missouri, a program that wanted to flip him late in the cycle. If you initially put the reasons that Williams committed to Notre Dame on a pie chart, McCullough may have the biggest percentage.

Young is the No. 108 overall recruit and No. 9 ball carrier in America per the On3 Industry Ranking. He committed to the Irish in June over offers from Texas, Missouri, Baylor, Miami, Michigan and others. Young will play in the 2024 All-American Bowl in January.

This class is the first time Notre Dame signed two top-21 running backs, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, since the 2013 cycle when the Irish signed Greg Bryant (No. 7) and Tareon Folston (No. 17). The duo of Williams and Young speaks to how rare of a combo this is for Notre Dame to sign.

Williams & Young rave about McCullough

McCullough had a home visit with Williams Dec. 1, which was a memorable moment for the new Irish signee.

“It was really nice,” he said. “It had been a while since I saw him because I wasn’t able to make it up there much during the football season. We talked some football and how he’s going to develop me and what I need to bring to the table. Communication between him, my parents and me when I’m there was a big thing during our conversation.”

Williams committed to Notre Dame on Dec. 16, 2022, and his relationship with McCullough has become incredibly tight.

“It’s really laid back,” he added. “The more and more we talk, I forget that he’s my coach, to be honest with you. I can really open up to him. Shoot, he knows my life better than some of my family members. It’s one of those relationship.”

Williams had an outstanding senior season, totaling 2,230 yards and 44 touchdowns between rushing and receiving. He was named the 2023 Missouri Class 4 Player of the Year.

Young is fired up to play for McCullough as well.

“We’ve built a great relationship,” Young previously told Blue & Gold about McCullough. “He cares about his players; he definitely does. He is also very detailed with what he was talking about, whether it is football, playbook, academics or NIL. He cares and takes his job seriously. He loves his job.”

Young’s senior season was nothing short of tremendous, recording 226 carries for 1,366 yards with 16 total touchdowns.

On3’s own rankings list Young as the No. 73 player and No. 4 running back in the land.

“We’re very high on Young’s skill set,” On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power said in November about Young. “He played behind a very small and inexperienced offensive line this year. It was tough sledding, but we like his size and speed. He catches the ball well and the change of direction at 5-11, 225 pounds is good. He’s going to really enjoy running behind Notre Dame’s offensive line because he had to maximize a lot of his yardage as a senior at Lufkin.”

Blue & Gold’s recruiter of the year superlative started in the 2023 cycle. Ex-wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey was the selection.