Notre Dame Football: Two-deep 2017 depth chart projection

Running Backs

Starting Running Back: JR Josh Adams

Adams, the freshman sensation of 2015, is still running strong going into his junior year at Notre Dame. He has minimal competition for the position. It’s safe to say he has more than established himself as the lead back for last year’s powerhouse offense. Adams finished his 2016 campaign with 158 carries for 933 yards and five scores.

Backups: JR Dexter Williams, SO Tony Jones Jr.

Both Williams and Jones are high upside players with complementing skill sets. While either Williams or Jones could be considered the No. 2 behind Adams, their difference in styles should allow for both of them to get in decent playing time, especially if Adams goes down. Williams has the most experience out of the two but only time will tell who will be called should the time come.

Quarterbacks

Starting Quarterback: JR Brandon Wimbush

As it is most teams, quarterback will be the do-or-die position for Notre Dame this year. The team lost DeShone Kizer to the Cleveland Browns via the NFL draft this past April. That leaves Brian Kelly tasked with finding his replacement. But Notre Dame was by no means panicked by this situation, in fact, they had prepared for it.

Wimbush was never brought in to be a backup. While that was the position he played when he first reached South Bend, he was always destined for more. And now that that time has finally come, his coaches and teammates alike are ready to hand him the reigns.

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Backup: SO Ian Book

Book, who looked much better on paper than Wimbush over the course of the Blue and Gold game, is not here to fight Wimbush for his job. Just like Wimbush, that time will come later. If we learned anything from that spring game, it was that Notre Dame certainly will have a fighting chance even if their starter goes down.