Top 5 Running Backs

Breaking down and ranking the five (plus one) best backs from the last thirty years at Notre Dame

It’s time to break down and rank the greatest running backs to lace up their cleats and play for Notre Dame since I began following the program back in 1988.

When I looked through the years it became impossible to really evaluate the tailbacks and the fullbacks, so I decided to break it into two categories. I’ll have a Top 5 running backs (+1) and a Top 5 fullbacks list. We’ll begin with the top Irish running backs.

1. AUTRY DENSON (1995-98)

College Stats: 854 carries, 4,318 yards, 5.1 YPC, 43 TDs / 53 catches, 432 yards, 3 TDs

There are sexier backs on this list, and guys who had better NFL potential. There were players not on this list that had more dynamic seasons. There were players on this list who were not only talented backs, but playmaking return men, which Denson was not. There were better pass catchers. You get the point

There were not, however, any backs to wear a Notre Dame uniform in the last 30 years that were more consistent or more productive. Denson finished his career more rushing yards (4,318) than any player in program history, and only Allen Pinkett (49) had more rushing touchdowns. Denson added 432 yards and three more touchdowns in the pass game.

Denson rushed for 695 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman, and rushed for at least 1,176 yards in each of his next three seasons. Denson’s 1,268 yards as a junior were the fourth most in school history at the time and is currently tied for fifth. Denson was also a lot of fun to watch, and that matters in this discussion as well.

2. JULIUS JONES (1999-2003)

College Stats: 634 carries, 3,018 yards, 4.8 YPC, 26 TDs / 28 catches, 250 yards, 1 TD / 2,104 return yards, 2 TDs

Jones was a solid back his first three seasons, and he ranks sixth all-time in rushing yards at Notre Dame (3,018) due mainly to a strong 2003 campaign, which came a year after he was suspended. Jones was outstanding that season despite playing on a poor football team. His 262 yards (10.9 YPC) in an Oct. 11, 2003 victory at Pittsburgh is a program best. In fact, Jones had three performances in 2003 that rank among the 10 best at Notre Dame; only Vagas Ferguson had more than one.

But Jones didn’t have the year one through four production of other backs on this list, at least not as a pure runner. What makes Jones number two on this list is partly what made Golden Tate rank so high on the wide receiver list, and that is what he brought to the Irish as an all-around player.

Jones finished his career 5,372 all-purpose yards, which included 2,104 return yards. Think about this, Jones had more career return yards than Reggie Brooks had in all-purpose yards during his career. That is also more all-purpose yards than Denson (5,327). He made game-changing plays as a runner and return man. Who will forget the 100-yard kick return he had against #1 Nebraska in 2000?

3. DARIUS WALKER (2004-06)

College Stats: 693 carries, 3,249 yards, 4.7 YPC, 23 TDs / 109 catches, 816 yards, 3 TDs

Walker is a back that has generated a great deal of debate when I talk with others about his career. He wasn’t overly explosive, he wasn’t overly physical, and he was never the top player for the Irish offense. He was overshadowed by the fact he played with all-time greats like Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija.

But Walker was one of the most productive backs in Notre Dame history, and he was impactful in the run game and pass game. Walker is ranked fourth all-time in rushing yards (3,249), second all-time in receptions for a running back (109) and fifth all-time in receiving yards for a back (816). In fact, Walker is the only running back in Notre Dame history to rank in the Top 5 in rushing yards and receiving yards for a back.

Walker had a tendency to come up big in big moments. He had 115 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in Notre Dame’s 28-20 victory over #8 Michigan, and as a sophomore he racked up 126 yards of offense in a 17-10 road win at #3 Michigan. Walker had 115 yards in the epic battle against USC, and his 186 yards were instrumental in Notre Dame’s 38-31 season-ending victory over Stanford, and he had 127 yards in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State.

He ended his career with 128 rushing yards in the Sugar Bowl against LSU.

4. JOSH ADAMS (2015-17)

College Stats: 480 carries, 3,201 yards, 6.7 YPC, 20 TDs / 41 catches, 336 yards, 2 TDs

Walker set the program record for rushing yards for a freshman when he racked up 786 yards in 2004. That record was broken by Adams in 2015 when he rushed for 835 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt. He went for 933 yards as a sophomore and 1,430 yards as a junior. Adams finished his career with 3,198 yards, which ranks fifth in program history.

His 1,430 rushing yards in 2017 were the second most in season in school history. His 6.7 yards per attempt is the third best mark in school history. If you look at the backs in the Top 10 in rushing yards at Notre Dame, only George Gipp’s 6.3 yards per carry comes even close to what Adams produced. The next highest is Cierre Wood with 5.4 yards per attempt.

Adams benefitted from playing behind two of the best offensive lines we’ve seen in the last 30 years, but he was the ideal player for that unit thanks to his home run speed. He had seven carries of at least 50 yards in 2017, which according to Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi is more than any other Irish back had in his entire career.

T-5. RICKY WATTERS (1987-90)

Ccllege Stats: 325 carries, 1,814 yards, 5.6 YPC, 21 TDs / 41 catches, 610 yards, 2 TDs / 544 return yards, 3 TDs

I went back and forth quite a bit on the fifth back on this list. Watters never rushed for more than 791 yards in a season, although he did rush for 21 touchdowns in his career. In fact, he never led Notre Dame in rushing in his career, and he spent the 1988 season playing wide receiver. It was his all-around game that put Watters on this list.

Watters not only made plays as a runner and pass catcher, he also racked up 502 yards and three touchdowns as a punt returner. His 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in the season opening contest over Michigan proved to be an integral part of the 19-17 Irish victory. He had another punt return for a score that season, taking one back 66 yards for a score against Navy.

Watters certainly had the best pro career of anyone on this list, rushing for 10,643 yards and 78 touchdowns in 10 seasons in the NFL. He also caught 467 passes for 4,248 yards and 13 more scores. Watters scored three touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIX.

T-5. REGGIE BROOKS (1989-92)

College Stats: 198 carries, 1,508 yards, 7.6 YPC, 15 TDs / 2 catches, 28 yards, 1 TD

If we are talking about career numbers then a case could be made that Brooks doesn’t belong on this list. Cierre Wood (2,447 yards, 16 touchdowns), Randy Kinder (2,295 - 18), Ryan Grant (2,220 - 18), Armando Allen (2,144), Lee Becton (2,029), Tony Fisher (1,849) and Dexter Williams (1,636 - 20) all had more career yards than Brooks. His brother, Tony Brooks, also rushed for more yards with 2,274 in his career. Brooks rushed for only 27 more career yards than Tony Jones Jr.

Brooks rushed for 43 yards as a freshman, played defense as a sophomore and had just 122 yards as a junior. He caught just two passes for 28 yards as a junior. It wasn’t until his senior season that he truly broke out, but Brooks was so good as a senior that he deserves to be on this list.

He racked up 1,343 yards that season, which was the fourth best single-season mark in program history, and he did in a backfield that also had Jerome Bettis. His 8.0 yards per carry is the second best in school history, and the only season better was from Gipp back in 1920. His 7.60 yards per attempt for his career is almost a full yard better than second place (Don Miller, 1922-24).

That’s right, the only two runners in Notre Dame history to be in the same ballpark as Brooks from a yards per carry standpoint are two of the most iconic players in program history. His dominant season earned him second team All-American honors from six different services and he finished fifth in Heisman voting that season. For perspective, no other player on this list was named an All-American by more than one service.

Past top rankings:

Top 5 Quarterbacks
Top 5 Wide Receivers
Top 5 Offensive Linemen
Top 5 Edge Players/Defensive Ends
Top 5 Linebackers
Top 5 Cornerbacks

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