Free Agent Route A Likely Option For Notre Dame's Tarean Folston
Shortly after Notre Dame’s March 23 Pro Day, graduating senior Fighting Irish running back Tarean Folston was asked about his workout that included times of 4.75 and 4.8 in the 40-yard dash, 20 reps of a 225-pound bench press and a 33.5-inch vertical jump.
“It went okay,” summarized Folston, who checked in at 5-9, 199 pounds. “It didn’t go exactly like I planned, but it didn’t go bad.”
The statement not only summarized that particular day, but also Folston's four-year playing career at Notre Dame — especially the part about not going exactly as planned.
Folston made a splash during the second half of his freshman season in 2013 while finishing with 470 yards rushing and becoming a lead figure. As a sophomore, Folston’s 889 yards rushing were 600 yards more than anyone else on the team, including team captain Cam McDaniel, the top rusher the year prior.
Only three other running backs in Notre Dame annals had entered their junior season (academically) with more career yards rushing than Folston’s 1,359: Allen Pinkett, current third-year Irish running backs coach Autry Denson and Darius Walker.
Alas, after just three carries in the 2015 opening-game victory versus Texas, Folston suffered a season ending ACL tear. In his place, senior C.J. Prosise, converted from receiver, became a 1,000-yard rusher and third-round pick. Meanwhile, freshman Josh Adams rambled for a freshman school record 835 yards.
How fleeting and fickle fame can be.
“It teaches you don’t take anything for granted,” Folston said. “Everything can be taken from you like that. I’m not going to say it was taken from me, but an injury like I had, it definitely sets you back.”
Prosise saw the same fleeting of fame as a rookie in the NFL last season. The week after accumulating 153 total yards of offense in a victory against eventual Super Bowl champ New England, and shortly after a 72-yard touchdown scamper versus Philadelphia, Prosise suffered a non-surgical injury that truncated his rookie campaign.
Adams experienced it as a high school junior, when an ACL tear ended his junior season early after a brilliant sophomore year.
Folston’s senior season at Notre Dame in 2016 did have an auspicious start when his first carry at Texas resulted in a 54-yard gain. Alas, again, the rest of the horrible 4-8 campaign his 76 ensuing carries netted only 280 yards (3.7 yards per attempt). A high ankle sprain sidelined Folston in October against Syracuse and North Carolina State.
Shortly after the season-ending loss at USC in which Folston’s six carries totaled only 12 yards while Adams had 180 yards on 17 carries, Folston met with head coach Brian Kelly to discuss whether he wanted to return for a fifth season in 2017. Adams was the returning bell cow back, while classmate Dexter Williams was challenging for the No. 2 role, and freshman redshirt and the physical Tony Jones Jr. was primed for more playing time as well.
“I was invited back, they definitely wanted me back,” Folston said. “I thought about it. I knew I wanted to finish school, but at the moment didn’t know if I wanted to stay, wanted to go to another school, if I wanted to enter the draft.”
After exploring and discussing all his options with his family, Folston decided right before the Jan. 16 draft deadline that he would not reach out to any schools to be a fifth-year graduate transfer. It would be the NFL or nothing.
From the outside looking in, the decision lacked logic. How did Folston expect to make an NFL roster when even his playing time at Notre Dame as a reserve would be competitive?
Part of it was the realization that nothing is guaranteed, and more tread on his tires as a fifth-year senior might have diminished his NFL stock anyway.
“If I would have stayed in school and, God forbid, got hurt, that would have been my last season, regardless of what type of injury I had,” Folston said. “I thought about all that and felt like I made the best decision. … Regardless whether I played a lot or didn’t play a lot, I thought this was the best time.”
Although Folston is not projected to get drafted, the free agent route has its benefits in that he can do a more thorough investigation of which franchises might best suit his skill set. Under Kelly, five different undrafted running backs have latched on to play at least two years on an NFL roster: Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, Jonas Gray, Cierre Wood and, most recently, George Atkinson III, who turned pro after his junior year in 2013 while falling behind both McDaniel and Folston.
“I feel like I can do it all,” said Folston of his sales pitch to NFL teams. “I can run routes, I can catch the ball, pass pro, run the ball … even [help on] special teams. My whole thing is I just need opportunity and I feel like I can make the best of the opportunity.”
In the same way his playing career took a turn for the worse in 2015, he believes it can go the other way as well with some good fortune and timing.
Currently, Folston is finishing off his second semester work to receive his Arts & Letters degree in film, television and theatre, and also training at AWP Sports in Fort Wayne, which is where classmate/linebacker and 2015 Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith received his start.
“I don’t think days like this can really show what a player can do [on the field],” said Folston of the Pro Day. “They like to see tests and things like that. … just keep grinding no matter what. That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m ready to continue on with my journey and hope it works out for the best.”
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