Notre Dame Commit Jadarian Price Is A Special Talent

Notre Dame running back commit Jadarian Price is a special player having a monster senior season

Denison (Texas) High School running back Jadarian Price has flown under the radar for some time, but the Notre Dame 2022 commit is having a monster senior season,. It is impossible not to notice the jump Price has made in his final prep season ahead of his January enrollment at Notre Dame.

I spent time in Texas with Denison head coach Brent Whitson, who obviously can't speak highly enough about his star running back. Here's my Q&A with Whitson.

Q: Give a little background about your program, and then I’ll ask you some questions about Price.

Whitson: “I was fortunate to come into a class of 30-plus seniors, one of which is Jadarian Price. I only say it that way because that’s the only time you’ll ever hear me say that he’s one of them. Because he is the forefront of it. As a student, as a kid, he’s really a young adult. I don’t know how many people you say that about that are 17 years old, but he’s a young adult.

“They are supposed to be that when they are 18 and 19. I know a lot of kids that are 18 and 19 years old. But JD, that’s what we all call him (Jadarian), he’s just an exceptional, exceptional young man. Great student. Quiet leader.

“You know, the guys that make all the noise in our locker room, they will always defer to JD if there’s something to be decided, or if it’s time for that really good key word. He’ll step up and do that.”

Q: What are your expectations of Price as a player?

Whitson: “He’s a moment player. There are times on the sideline when I just look at him on the sideline, and I’m still new in his life, but we’ve built that relationship now where I look at him and I say ‘take over.’ He knows that he’s got to get the football and it's time to do that JD thing.

“He can turn it on like that. He plays hard all the time, but there’s a different level, a different gear.”

Q: What is JD’s best attribute?

Whitson: “His burst. His explosion. I’ve had some really good ones. I counted it up when I got here. I think I’ve had six FBS-level (running) backs in my 25 years (of coaching high school football). He’s the fastest zero-to-60 kid I’ve ever seen.

“He start-stops, jump cuts, starts, better than any of them (that I’ve coached). To do that you have to have great vision, but I think that’s an overused term when you talk about (running) backs. If a kid has rushed for a 1,000 yards, yes, they can see the hole.

“I can see the hole. I can’t get in it. He can do both of those things.”

Q: How confident are you in Jadarian as a receiver?

Whitson: “He’s a tremendous receiver. We didn’t know that. You start doing some things in spring football, and over the summer that he has an opportunity to catch the ball and you see that he’s got incredible body control and great ball skills. Then again, does that zero-to-60 thing once he receives it.

“So many guys can run fast but can’t ensure the catch. Once he ensures the catch, he lights the fuse and can go. We use him in the flat quite a bit. As a guy you find ways to get him to where he can out run an inside linebacker. Make the matchup where he can get outside and go.

“Again, zero drops. Zero drops. If you throw it at him, if it’s a target it’s a catch. Whatever he’s got to do. He has two of the most incredible catches I think I’ve ever seen this year, on scrambles by a quarterback and kind of had to fling it up, and he goes and twists and sticks his feet.

“The good thing about him, it’s not over then. Then he gets both feet on the ground. Well, my dad always told me you can’t drop a cat on its back. Well, JD is just like that.”

Q: What about his ability in the hole? You know, this is Texas. These kids play hard. Is he a grinder in between the tackles?

Whitson: “He can be because sometimes we get our tail whipped. JD is the type of guy that wants to get you three (yards). Wants to make sure that we get what we need.

“My favorite run of the year, we’re tied 14-14, late (in the game), against Rock Hill, in our homecoming game, second district game, needing the win, coming off a bad loss. And we haven’t really played all that well, but JD has.

“You know, he’s had the moment where he’s been 11 yards down the field and someone has bopped him from the side. He’s been 12 yards down the field, seven yards down the field, and the safety has just been able to make the play. We get the ball back with two minutes and the very first play we’re trying to set up kind of a jailbreak screen that’s run off a counter (to JD); trying to capitalize off their attention on JD.

“So we run the counter the very first play, and when he broke the line of scrimmage I told my offensive coordinator on the headset you’re not going to need the screen. Because I saw JD zero in on the safety, and now he couldn’t surprise him. He took his left thigh and ran it right through the kid’s chest. 65 yards later, it’s 21-14 us.

“So, can he be physical? Absolutely. He’s ripped, loves the weight room. He’s that special kid, that has greatness, and a great work ethic. They just don’t get paired very often. Now, they do at the big-school level where everybody has greatness, and then the ones that come out are the ones with the great work ethic. He goes there (Notre Dame) like that.”

Q: You think he can keep filling out his frame?

Whitson: “I think he’s 215 (pound) guy. Right now, he’s probably just short of 190. He carries it very well. I don’t know what they feed kids at that level because I’ve never sent one that stayed, and I just didn’t want to ask them, ‘take me through your training table.’

“Of course some of it is just testosterone. The best thing for an 18-year old male is just 365 days. Which is the best thing that ever happens to a high school male. You know, just get another year behind them. I think when JD comes back here in a year we won’t recognize his neck, we won’t recognize his shoulders, and it’s not necessarily the weight room, sometimes it’s just nutrition.”

Q: What does JD need to work on between now and his freshman season at the University of Notre Dame?

Whitson: “You know, like all kids that go into that level of football, just physical strength. They can always be stronger. And in JD’s case, I think he needs to increase that strength from his knees to his chest. Because that’s where running backs make their living. You know, he’s going to be explosive. The core and the hips and things, and they’ll see that.

“They’ll diagnose. You know, it’s amazing all the individual plans they have for all those guys.

Q: Thoughts on how quickly he can see action for the Irish.

Whitson: "I think he’s a guy that can play early. I’ve watched them play two or three times this year. I love what (Notre Dame Head) Coach (Brian) Kelly and his offensive coaching staff does with those guys. I think JD fits in it. He won’t run through that safety from Cincinnati with his left knee right now. Before September (of 2022), that’s what they’ll work on.”

Thanks to Coach Whitson, his entire coaching staff, and all the players at Denison High School for allowing the communication about their football program and the Denison, Texas area in general. It was a pleasure to be there.

Price finished the regular seasons (10 games) with 1,582 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on 163 carries. That's good for an average of 9.7 yards per carry. 

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