Notre Dame Season Preview: Running Back Room Is Talented, But Questions Remain
Notre Dame enters the 2023 season with a running back room that is as talented as the program has had in a very long time. Even with that talent, the lack of proven production and the injury history of the group also means there are still a lot of questions.
If the answers this season are positive the Notre Dame run game should be outstanding, and the backs will provide big time offensive production.
We continue our Notre Dame 2023 season previews with a look at the Irish running backs.
2023 ROSTER
Here are the career starts for the Notre Dame backs.
Audric Estime - 163 carries, 980 yards, 6.0 YPC, 11 TD / 135 receiving yards, 1 TD
Devyn Ford - 140 carries, 666 yards, 4.8 YPC, 6 tD / 103 receiving yards
Gi'Bran Payne - 2 carries, 5 yards
ESTIME IS NOW "THE GUY"
New Jersey native Audric Estime didn't play much as a freshman in 2021, rushing for just 60 yards, but he quickly became a key part of the Irish offense in 2022. By season's end Estime had emerged as Notre Dame's most productive back, and now he enters his junior season on the verge of becoming one of the best backs in college football.
Estime led Notre Dame in rushing last season with 920 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the final 10 games of the season he also averaged 6.6 yards per carry. With Logan Diggs gone to LSU, Estime is now the lead back. Now we get to learn if Estime can do what he did last season with a heavier work load.
That's really the key for Estime and the Notre Dame staff. He'll need to up his work load, but they have to find out what is the point of diminishing returns for Estime. What's the point where he becomes less effective. Being able to find that point and manage his workload in a way that keeps him as fresh as possible during the second half of the season.
If Estime can handle an increased workload he'll be a dominant part of the offense, he'll put up the kind of numbers to gather the attention needed to be considered one of the nation's best backs.
PRICE IS THE KEY
Notre Dame will have a good backfield in 2023, but the question is how good will it be. Will it be Estime and quality backups, or will it be Estime and sophomore Jadarian Price forming a potent one-two punch that surpasses the Estime-Diggs duo last season.
Price missed all of last season with an Achilles injury. According to head coach Marcus Freeman, Price is fully healthy. That's huge news for Notre Dame, but what we don't know is whether or not Price is the same athlete he was prior to the injury, and if he can keep his Achilles and the muscles around it from fatiguing as the season wears on.
For Price, a return to full health and full strength as a player would be huge for him and the Irish offense. Price is an explosive runner that brings a home run element to the offense it lacked a season ago. A healthy Price can take some of the workload off of Estime, maintain a high level of production, and give the Irish the kind of one-two punch it needs to put a championship offense on the field.
Now here is the million dollar question, when will Price get up to full strength, how long can he stay healthy, and how much of a work load will he be able to handle in his first season back from injury.
PAYNE READY TO HELP
With Diggs and Price out during the spring, and with Chris Tyree moved to wide receiver, an opportunity opened up for sophomore Gi'Bran Payne to get plenty of opportunities this spring, and Payne took full advantage.
Payne has been healthy so far in his Notre Dame career, and that has allowed him to show off his impressive combination of football smarts, foot quickness and vision. Payne also has surprising speed, which combines with the aforementioned traits to make him a dangerous runner.
Even if Price is healthy I fully expect Payne to force himself into the rotation, and he'll get his chances to carry the ball. If Notre Dame needs to manage Price's workload, or if he's not healthy, Payne has the skills to be a productive backup behind Estime. If Notre Dame has to go with Payne this season he showed the talent this spring to more than carry the load.
FORD PROVIDES DEPTH, EXPERIENCE
The loss of Diggs to LSU and Tyree to wide receiver opened up a need for another back, and Notre Dame found that when Devyn Ford transferred in from Penn State. Ford was at Penn State in 2019 when current Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker was coaching receivers for the Nittany Lions.
A former Top 100 recruit, Ford is a shifty runner that is more quick than fast. He has slasher skills that should allow him to thrive in Notre Dame's Duo, Inside Zone and Counter concepts. He also adds value as a running back.
I'm not sure Ford has the talent to be an every down back, but he can be a key rotation player and he certainly provides insurance at the position should injuries creep up again this season.
LOVE HAS BIG TIME POTENTIAL
Freshman Jeremiyah Love is the highest ranked recruit on the depth chart, and he has arguably the most talent at the position. Love also has the best all-around skillset, possessing home run skills as both a runner and receiver.
Love is still learning the nuances of running back play and it's unlikely he'll be ready for a full-time role in year one. Moving up a depth chart this talented won't be easy, but Love is too talented not to find his way on the field at some point this season. As long as he's able to pick up the offense, Notre Dame needs to find a way to get him on the field and get the ball in his hands in some way, shape or form.
Love is also the type of athlete that doesn't need volume to make an impact, which is also true for Price and Payne. This should make it a bit easier for the Notre Dame coaches to get all of them involved at some point. Love emerging and getting on the field also helps Notre Dame keep the workload for Estime and Price down, especially earlier in the season.
KEY STORYLINES
1. Can Estime Handle The Bigger Workload - There is no doubt Estime is a talented runner, and with his body type and power I fully expect him to be able to handle a full workload. I do have some minor concerns however, due in part to how quickly he seemed to tire in games last season, and the simple fact we haven't seen him do it week after week. We should find out relatively early if Estime has what it takes to be the lead back and dominate the game the way I and I think most Notre Dame fans believe he can.
2. What Will We Get From Price - Price might be the biggest wildcard on the entire offense, much less in the running back room. He has loads of talent, and might even be the most talented pure runner on the roster. But we have yet to see him take a snap since his Achilles injury, which can be a devastating injury for athletes, even young ones. Will he get back to being the back he was before the injury? That will be a key storyline in fall camp, and if the answer is in the affirmative this offense could be scary good at running the football.
3. How Will The Depth Chart Shake Out - There is just too much talent at running back for the depth chart to just shake out nice and easy. I'm very much looking forward to the battles that will rage at running back, and I'm not talking about fall camp only. No matter who is getting carries on Saturdays, they will need to be on top of their game, because another talented running back or two will be making a push.
4. More Pass Game Impact Please - We saw the backs be used as effective weapons in the pass game last season, but not nearly consistently enough. Estime can be a dangerous check down weapon and can even do damage on the occasional designed route, as we saw last season. The other backs can be used in a variety of ways, and I want to see them touching the ball even more out of the backfield this season.
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