Freshman running back Jadarian Price had such a good spring that Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough selected Price ahead of some of his older teammates in the Blue-Gold Game Draft in April.
Price proved McCullough right by accounting for 116 yards on 17 offensive touches for the victorious Gold team in the Blue-Gold Game.
But the promise Price showed in the spring won't be fulfilled in the 2022 season. Price underwent surgery Friday to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon after suffering the injury in offseason training, the Notre Dame football program announced. Price will miss the entire 2022 season.
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“I think it was shown in the draft what my thoughts were with him,” McCullough said of Price after the Blue-Gold Game. “We had an opportunity to do some other things, but JD was doing a great job during the spring. I wanted to see how he'd respond, basically being the primary guy. He did a good job.”
Price's eight catches for 104 yards overshadowed his nine carries for 12 yards in the Blue-Gold Game. His 51-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass was one of the highlights of the spring-ending scrimmage.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Price was expected to compete for playing time this season, especially after sophomore running back Logan Diggs tore the labrum in his left shoulder in the Blue-Gold Game. Diggs' availability for the season opener at Ohio State on Sept. 3 remains in question.
The Irish are left with three healthy, scholarship running backs on the roster this summer: junior Chris Tyree, sophomore Audric Estime and freshman Gi'Bran Payne.
Tyree has dealt with injury issues of his own. He was troubled by a turf toe injury last season and was limited in the spring with an ankle injury. He's the most experienced back on the roster with 129 carries for 718 yards and five touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Irish.
Estime played in 12 games as a freshman but mostly on special teams. His seven carries for 60 yards came in two games: six against Georgia Tech and one against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Payne was a late addition to Notre Dame's 2022 recruiting class after initially signing with Indiana. The four-star recruit and 21st-ranked running back struggled to stay healthy in his final two seasons at Cincinnati La Salle.
The return timetable for Diggs becomes even more important in Price's absence. In the final eight games of last season, Diggs showed potential with 52 carries for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 56 yards and one touchdown. Notre Dame hasn't provided an update on Diggs' recovery from labrum surgery.
The Irish will likely need their three walk-on running backs — seniors Sam Assaf and Skip Velotta and junior Chase Ketterer — to be active in August's preseason camp.
Price signed with Notre Dame as a four-star recruit out of Denison (Texas) High School. Rivals ranked him as the No. 5 all-purpose back and No. 244 overall in the 2022 class.
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