Thin On Sure Things, Full Of Upside: A Look At Notre Dame's Running Backs

August camp normally ushers in an excess of practice viewing windows, video and frequent availability of Brian Kelly and players. Yet this month has featured closed practices and only a couple Zoom press conferences from Kelly as Notre Dame prepares to play a season that isn’t guaranteed to go its full length.

We can’t see who is taking all the first-team reps, or who might be out with an injury or a COVID-19-related absence. The Sept. 12 season-opener will be a lot more revealing than a normal first game.

There are curiosities at each position, battles to be settled and goals to accomplish that are worth talking about now, though. Here’s our best attempt to sort through them. Up next: A look at Notre Dame’s running backs.

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Returning players: Jafar Armstrong (R-Jr.), C’Bo Flemister (R-So.), Jahmir Smith (R-Soph.), Kyren Williams (R-Fr.)

Departed players: Tony Jones Jr. (pro)

Incoming players: Chris Tyree (Fr.)

Offseason developments: Jones Jr., the leading rusher in 2019, left for the NFL. Notre Dame landed Stanford grad transfer Trevor Speights in May, but he was put on medical scholarship earlier this month without ever practicing.

Armstrong, with 505 career yards, is the group’s leading returning rusher and a candidate to be Notre Dame’s next late-career breakout, like Jones was last year. But younger challengers with clear upside have apparently impressed in camp.

Notre Dame has been here before, if nothing else. The Irish have entered seasons with a cast of unproven characters after a meaningful departure and emerged with successful running games. Most recently, career complimentary player Jones replaced former enigmatic backup turned star Dexter Williams and ran for 857 yards on 6.0 yards per carry.

Jones’ successor is not clear. Armstrong, a versatile player with strength (6-0, 220 pounds) and pass-catching ability (9.5 career yards per catch) is one candidate. After two injury-plagued years and struggles when carrying a bigger load, one wonders how well he could handle double-digit carries per game. His combined yards per rush when given 10-plus carries in a game is 3.1 yards. He averaged 2.7 on 46 carries in 2019.

If Armstrong ends up as a role player, it seems likely at least one of the two underclassmen had something to do with it. Kyren Williams earned his coaches’ praise last summer, but it didn’t produce a meaningful role. He played in two games, had five touches and redshirted. It seems the moment isn’t too big for him anymore. If so, he gives Notre Dame a skilled receiver out of the backfield and a physical runner with elusiveness and adequate speed.

“We’ve always liked Kyren,” Kelly said. “He’s maturing and physically getting to the point where he has transformed his entire body. He came in last year as a freshman and there was a big transition, especially at the running back position, where you’re required to do so much more than you were in high school.

“His commitment in the offseason has put himself in a position where he’s what we thought he would be. He can catch the football, he has really good vision and escapability, he’s not afraid to block or run the ball between the tackles. He’s going to be a key piece for us moving into the season.”

The other variable is Tyree, the No. 78 overall recruit in the 2020 class. He’s the owner of a sub-4.4 40-yard dash and won the fastest man competition at The Opening Finals last summer. He’s a home-run threat if there ever was one – and the Irish don’t have another one in their backfield. The concern with him was his 5-10, 179-pound frame. Kelly, though, said he’s around 190 pounds and can physically hold up.

“He’s a lot stronger than we thought in terms of lower-body strength,” Kelly said. “He’s not a specialist who just plays in the slot or gets hand-off sweeps. He’s a guy who can run the football downhill between the tackles, too.

If we’re to take Kelly at his word about Tyree and Williams, we’re also believing he understands the running game’s highest upside comes from them. That’s not to say Armstrong, Flemister and Smith are going to get buried, but they’re closer to known commodities who have acquitted themselves fine as role players but haven’t yet shown they could be difference-maker lead backs.

It’s fair to ask if Jones was a game-changer last year, but he did the job for a rushing attack that ended the year 28th in yards per carry. Could Armstrong, Flemister or Smith post numbers in the neighborhood of Jones’ 2019 stats? It’s not a sure thing, which is why it seems Kelly is willing to involve the other two. Tyree has a skill set no one else does. Williams’ all-purpose ability is difficult to ignore.

The carry distribution is one of the most captivating storylines to follow during the season opener against Duke. Will Kelly be willing to play Tyree, and for how many snaps? Is he truly ready? With this season as an eligibility freebie, there’s no reason not to play him unless he can’t handle it. Kelly’s comments make a swimming upstream situation unlikely.

“He’s not going to get 30 carries [in a game] — don’t get me wrong — but he’s going to play as a freshman,” Kelly said. “He has been impressive.”

Still, it’s worth noting Tarean Folston (88 carries, 470 yards in 2013) and Josh Adams in 2015 (835 yards on 117 carries in 2015) are the only freshman backs to have meaningful roles in Kelly’s tenure. Neither led the team in carries.

901 – the combined career yards of Notre Dame’s four returning running backs. They have 219 total carries.

Tyree tops 100 touches. Lack of freshman running back contributors aside, it’s hard to see Kelly not giving Tyree a meaningful chance early on after his comments – and Tyree not seizing it. In 11 games (and possibly 12), 100 touches equates to about nine per game. That feels reasonable, especially at an unsettled position.

Quarterbacks

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