A running back for Notre Dame football that racked up more than 300 yards on the ground and three touchdowns last year has an even bigger role in 2018.
Notre Dame football has the idea of national contention in mind again, especially with all the production and experience coming back on the defensive side of the ball. That makes it all the more important to emphasize the development on offense, with less returning production than on defense.
Last year, the powering for for the Fighting Irish offense came from the ground game. Star running back Josh Adams had his best season during the course of his college career, racking up nearly 10 touchdowns, and 1,500 yards on the ground in 2017. Adams’ departure causes a massive hole in the offense, likely the toughest one to replace among all the Notre Dame skill positions.
The losses of offensive lineman like Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson also make it tough for the Irish to recover from that loss in the backfield. Highlighting the newfound stable of running backs for head coach Brian Kelly and the Irish in 2018 is Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr.
Williams is the likely starter after he averaged nearly 10.0 yards per carry last season. His career average for yards per carry sits at a whopping 6.5. However, Jones Jr. needs to shoulder a lot of the load too in 2018. Having another planned backup running back for 2018, Deon McIntosh, suspended hurts the overall depth in the backfield.
Since the Notre Dame running back depth seems thin once again, Jones Jr. is really the only backup plan if Williams doesn’t work out. It’s a ton of pressure to carry the load for the offense of such a big program.
Both Williams and Jones Jr. showed flashes of being able to take over in the offensive spotlight with flying colors. Jones Jr. could play a significant role in both the running and passing game. He’s got solid size and strength at 215 pounds. And, he averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry last year, while hauling in six catches in limited playing time.
Next: The case for each Notre Dame quarterback to start in 2018
Any team with the type of aspirations at the level of the College Football Playoff needs their offense to come through in a big way. The quarterback situation is not set yet for Notre Dame, and neither is the receiving corps. The running backs are really the only skill position group that knows how things should stack up come the start of the regular season.