Notre Dame Running Back Room Continues To Be Underrated

Despite consistent quality success the Notre Dame running back room doesn't get as much attention as it deserves

It has had some up-and-down moments, but the Notre Dame running back position has been an undervalued unit for several years. The good news for Notre Dame is that in spite of the past success, the Irish backfield is on the verge of taking things to a much greater level. 

THE PAST

The last decade plus has seen Notre Dame produce quality running backs, although the position has never been truly elite. Notre Dame has produced four 1,000-yard running backs since 2010, and five other backs came very close. Although Notre Dame has mostly lacked that one dominant back, it has produced some quality tandems.

Cierre Wood (1,102 yards, 9 TD) and Jonas Gray (791 yards, 12 TD) were a potent one-two punch in 2011, and Wood (742 yards, 4 TD) combined with Theo Riddick (917 yards, 5 TD) to lead a strong ground attack in 2012. Arguably the best one-two punch came in 2015, when CJ Prosise (1,029 yards, 11 TD) moved to running back and had an outstanding senior season, and Josh Adams (838 yards, 6 TD) set a Notre Dame freshman rushing record.

Adams racked up 1,430 yards in 2017, which was the second best single-season mark in program history. A year later, Dexter Williams rushed for 995 yards and 12 touchdowns despite missing the first four games of the season. Williams actually averaged more yards per game than did Adams the season prior. Kyren Williams racked up 1,000 yards in both 2020 (1,125 yards, 13 TD) and 2021 (1,005 yards, 14 TD). 

Last season Audric Estime (920 yards, 11 TD) and Logan Diggs (822 yards, 4 TD) formed one of the best one-two punches Notre Dame has had in some time. Only the 2015 duo of Prosise and Adams had two backs rush for over 800 yards in a season.

THE PRESENT

The loss of Diggs and the Chris Tyree move to wide receiver took 1,266 rushing yards away from the backfield. There is a lot of talent in the backfield, but there are major question marks.

Who serves as the lead back isn't a question, and that will be the responsibility of junior Audric Estime. The rising junior racked up 920 yards (5.9 YPC) and 11 touchdowns last season, which was his first in the rotation. 

Estime burst onto the scene with a 134-yard performance to go with two touchdowns in the 45-32 win over North Carolina. He followed that up with 97 yards against BYU, which concluded a stretch of three games where Estime had over 100 all purpose yards.

He had another three-game stretch with over 100 all-purpose yards later in the season. Estime rushed for 123 yards in a 41-24 win over Syracuse and followed that up with 104 yards in the 35-14 win over Clemson. Estime capped the season off with 95 yards in the 45-38 bowl win over South Carolina.

Estime has a chance to be a breakout player this season, but he'll need to hold onto the football (3 lost fumbles) and show he can be the lead back from start to finish in games. Estime will need to carry more of the load this season, and if he can do that there's no doubt he can be the bell cow back for the Notre Dame offense.

The questions at running back have a lot more to do with what is behind Estime. 

Rising sophomore Jadarian Price showed star talent during his first semester on campus, and multiple sources indicated he was the team's best running back last spring. A summer Achilles injury cost him his freshman season, and we don't yet know if Price will be able to get back to full speed. If he can the depth chart will go from questionable to really dangerous. Classmate Gi'Bran Payne also showed a lot of promise this spring, but he too must prove he can stay healthy after he struggled with injuries his last two seasons of high school.

The arrival of Devyn Ford from the transfer portal gives Notre Dame a quality runner with experience, which helps solidify the depth chart. If Ford is healthy and is the No. 2 back it means the Irish will have a quality, experienced player backing up Estime. If he's healthy and not the No. 2 back it means one of the younger players is thriving.

THE FUTURE

Notre Dame welcomes talented freshman Jeremiyah Love to campus this summer, and he'll kick off his career in the fall. Love was a Top 100 recruit coming out of St. Louis, and he brings big time playmaking potential to the Irish offense.

Love isn't like the other backs on the roster. He's tall, explosive and a dynamic all-around weapon that was recruited by some teams as a defensive back, and he's a major weapon out of the backfield. We'll see if Love is ready to play as a freshman, but don't be surprised if he is just too good to keep off the field.

Even if his time doesn't come in 2023, Love has the all-around skills and dynamic athleticism to eventually become a highly productive lead back for the Irish offense. In many ways his game resembles that of CJ Prosise, another two-way standout that also spent time at wide receiver before eventually settling in at running back.

Notre Dame has a commitment from another Missouri running back in the 2024 class. That would be Hannibal (Mo.) High School standout Aneyas Williams. Williams is an outstanding all-around back, which you saw back in 2021 when he rushed for 1,001 yards and caught 63 passes for 1,297 yards while racking up 44 total touchdowns.

Williams already has over 2,000 career rushing yards and 2,000 career receiving yards in his career. He's a potential impact all-around back that is a more athletic version of Kyren Williams.

Notre Dame is hoping to add a second back to the 2024 class, and the top target is Texas standout Kedren Young. While Williams is a talented all-around back, Young is more of a true runner that possesses outstanding size (5-11, 210), power, athleticism and speed. If Notre Dame is able to land both Williams and Young it would give the Irish one of the best running back hauls in the 2024 class, and that duo would combine with Love to ensure that Notre Dame is absolutely loaded at running back moving forward.

Health will ultimately determine the future of the position, but if the 2021 backs (Price, Payne) can stay healthy Notre Dame will have a chance to have its deepest and most talented backfield in a very, very long time. It would also be one of the nation's best.

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