SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Deland McCullough doesn’t actually print out certificates when his running backs achieve what he calls certification in two critical areas: two-minute drill and third-down situations.
Though those certifications are more figurative than literal, but they are very much real as a reflection of the trust that Notre Dame’s running backs coach is willing to show in his players.
“It’s kind of just like an in-theory type deal,” McCullough said Wednesday after Notre Dame’s sixth spring practice. “I’ll say you’re certified now. I said, ‘Gi’Bran [Payne], you’re certified. The whole world knows you’re certified.’”
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It’s become such a big deal that former Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé has told McCullough that he wants to come back to campus when junior-to-be running back Jadarian Price receives his third-down certification.
What does it take to be third-down certified by McCullough? Basically everything that you could possibly need to know about the offense and defense to be a trusted pass protector. That includes an ability to process information quickly, read defensive alignments for giveaways and defeat blitzers when presented with them.
Price is getting close to certification.
“He knows what he needs to do to work on that,” McCullough said. “Yeah, we kind of laugh about it, but he knows it’s serious too.”
The certification discussion is the latest revelation of McCullough’s detailed approach to coaching the position. He’s a diligent grader of practice film and demands his players reach 85% to even be considered to play in games come the fall.
The Irish have plenty of carries to distribute in 2024 after the NFL departure of Estimé after three seasons. Estimé rushed 210 times last season for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns. That’s 32 more carries than the rest of Notre Dame’s running backs, including walk-ons at the end of blowout victories, combined to share last season.
Price (47 carries for 272 yards and 3 TDs), sophomore Jeremiyah Love (71-385-1) and junior Payne (45-168-2) are the top candidates to split the majority of carries this fall. They’re graded just as harshly as freshmen Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young.
“I’m grading their alignments, their footwork, all of the small details of what they do,” McCullough said. “The new guys are the ones whose heads are blown. They’re like, ‘Dang, Coach, really? Really? My foot was …’ Yes. Your foot was … ‘I’m like a half inch too far?’ Yeah, you’re a half inch too far over.”
McCullough makes sure to follow up those coaching points with examples of why they matter on film. He's coaching them to eventually be able to make the transition to the NFL. For reassurance, McCullough asked Estimé if he’s encountered anything in pre-draft meetings with teams that he didn’t understand from a football perspective. Estimé told McCullough, who coached three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-2020), he was overprepared.
But that’s the preparation McCullough demands at Notre Dame.
“On this level you don’t have a lot of opportunities to make up for what happened three plays ago,” McCullough said. “You got to hit it when it’s there. Because that’s the type of environment we’re in and that’s the standard that we have for our running backs here.”
Why Jeremiyah Love is working with receivers
New offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has some ideas for how to use Love in other ways that just handing him the football. So the Irish have split Love’s time this spring between working with the running backs and the wide receivers.
He spent a big portion of Wednesday’s practice with the receivers, so he can be more nuanced in his route running and give him more opportunities to get the ball in space.
Love wouldn’t be able to do that if McCullough didn’t have confidence in Love’s ability to continue to progress as a running back with these additional responsibilities and confidence in a running back group that can keep rolling without Love.
“It’s not like, ‘Man, you know what? We need him back, because we can’t run the ball today. We can’t do good things at running back,’” McCullough said. “That’s not the case.”
Physical development has been a major focus for Love this offseason. Per McCullough, he played in the Sun Bowl at 180-some pounds, which is lighter than the coaching staff would like him to be. Love struggled running the ball in the 40-8 win over Oregon State. His 15 carries resulted in only 39 yards.
Though Love is listed at 6-foot and 196 pounds this spring, McCullough said he’s over the 200-pound mark now.
“He’s a workaholic. He’s a perfectionist,” McCullough said. “One thing about him, when I start talking about grading guys, you don’t have to correct Jeremiyah on the same thing twice. That’s the beauty of Jeremiyah Love. You say, ‘Hey, man, your footwork this,’ the next day you never hear about footwork again.
“You keep on other little things, but you get to a point where there’s nothing left to correct, now you’re just in refinement mode all the time.”
Jadarian Price stays on track
Price managed to play in all 13 games last season despite being one year out from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He showed flashes of being back to himself, but he also wasn’t required to carry a heavy workload. That was all part of the plan, per McCullough.
“There was no need in our room to say, ‘Look, we gotta load this guy up,’” McCullough said. “All I wanted him to do was bring him along the right way, put him in position to be successful for himself and for us to feel confident in his long-term development but then not overstressing his Achilles. We didn’t need to.”
Price didn’t surpass seven carries in a game until the Sun Bowl, where he broke out with 13 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown. A 54-yard run in the fourth quarter made Price’s day look much more statistically dominant than it was at the time.
“He left some stuff out there,” McCullough said. “… He looked at that like any competitor should and said, ‘Man, there were some things I could have done a little bit different. I could have made this or made that happen.’ But at the end of the day, he had great ball security, he protected the quarterback and he made some plays with the ball in his hands.”
The 5-10, 201-pound Price is closing on a body weight range his coach approves.
“I’m comfortable with him in that 204-206 area,” McCullough said. “I’m really good with that for what he can do for his body, the way he runs and different things like that. I don’t want to overstress what his body can really handle or put him at a deficit situation for the way he needs to carry the ball at Notre Dame.”
Extra points
• Payne carved out a role as a third-down back for Notre Dame last season whether in short or long situations. His work in the offseason has improved his vertical jump from 32 inches to 37, per McCullough.
Perhaps that could lead to even more opportunities in 2024.
“The guy’s a more explosive player,” McCullough said. “Then Gi’Bran doesn’t make mistakes. Gi’Bran maximizes. Gi’Bran is football smart, situational master, all these things. He’s bringing his lunch bucket to the table every day. He’s kind of the lead guy as far as details and handling his stuff with that.
“Physically, he’s got more than what people think. As we continue to move forward, you’ll see more of that from him. Short-yardage-wise, he’s got a low center of gravity, he’s got pad level, he knows how to get skinny in between there, different things like that. The same things he brings to the table as a short-yardage back as far as leverage, he brings to the table as a pass protector.”
• McCullough described the 5-10, 203-pound Williams, who was taking some reps with the No. 2 offense Wednesday, as an ascending player six practices into his Notre Dame career. He’s welcomed the criticism from McCullough and is getting more comfortable with what Notre Dame’s trying to do on offense.
Through Williams’ ups and downs, McCullough has seen a freshman picking up the signals well and showing good body control in pass protection and good body lean when running the ball.
“There can’t be these peaks and valleys every day,” McCullough said. “Like any young guy, he’s gotta become more consistent. On Saturday, he was perfect. His coaches, his mom was calling me like, ‘I’m so happy!’ yesterday.
"That was one practice. But I did celebrate it. I celebrated it with him. ‘Hey, man, shoot, you were 100% today.’ He ain’t been 100% since though. Bring that back."
• Young (6-0, 229) has missed most of the practices in the past week with a hamstring injury, but he’s expected to be able to finish the spring.
“Kedren was doing well through the OTAs and different things like that. Got chipped up a little bit,” McCullough said, referring to his injury. “But look at the dude. He’s a big ole looking guy. Before he got chipped up, he was moving around really, really well. He’ll be back soon. Excited for his development.
“What he’s learning now is when you’re injured you still have to be mentally engaged. I call to keep telling him, ‘You better answer these questions.’ I said, ‘JD [Price] was out for the season two years ago. He was required to answer every question. You’re out for a short period of time. You’re coming back. You can’t say, ‘Well, I’ll be back next year.’ No, you’re going to be back in a minute. Let’s stay tight.”
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