Who is going to be the load back for Notre Dame after Tony Jones, Jr. headed to the NFL? The candidates all leave something to be desired.
How much will Notre Dame miss Tony Jones, Jr. in 2020?
You may not have thought Jones was any great shakes at Notre Dame but his 857 rushing yards were the most on the team in 2019. Who then shoulders the load that Jones and his 144 carries from a year ago leaves?
“Quarterbacks: if you have two then you don’t have one!”
If that’s true then is the equivalent when discussing running backs something like, “Running backs: if you’ve got six then you’ve got nothing!”
That would somewhat describe the state of Notre Dame’s running back room after the addition of transfer Trevor Speights yesterday.
Right now the running back room has six bodies and seemingly none that appear to be threats to be a traditional every down back.
Jafar Armstrong has shown flashes but has been beat up, missing eight of Notre Dame’s 26 games the last two seasons. He started with a bang, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the 2018 opener against Michigan and seven that year, but totaled just 219 yards from scrimmage and one score in eight games in 2019.
Jahmir Smith, the former top-20 running back in the 2018 recruiting class hasn’t exactly shined just yet, totaling 208 rushing yards on 48 attempts, 46 of which came in 2019. It’s experience but nothing really stood out.
C’bo Flemister had a few flashes in 2019 but hardly a deep track record as he recorded just 53 touches in nine games. With those he 175 yards of offense for just 3.6 yards per touch.
Kyren Williams dropped a pass in the Louisville game to start the season and was pulled from that contest. He’d wind up playing in parts of the first four games, recording just five touches before getting a redshirt. His moves excite many but he’s not exactly seen as a potential burner by any means.
Chris Tyree will arrive on campus as big of running back recruit that Notre Dame has had in quite some time but to expect him to walk in and be a load type back is likely unrealistic as he’ll take some time to thicken up a bit and have the body type necessary to play running back in major college football.
And finally, Trevor Speights arrives after a career at Stanford that saw him record 95 carries for 363 yards (3.8 ypc) and battle some injury problems. Like I’ve said, he’s by no means a knockout signing of a transfer but is at least another body to compete for playing time behind what should be a solid offensive line.
It’s clear that the running back room is questionable at best for Notre Dame as we head to 2020. If Brian Kelly, Tommy Rees or run game coordinator Lance Taylor felt better about it then they wouldn’t have pursued Speights services quite like they did.
What you root for first is health as that would give us the chance at the highest production from the position, likely coming from Armstrong or Speights. It’s hard for me to imagine Flemister or Williams taking a massive leap but I won’t tell you not be hopeful for something there. And as excited as I am to watch Tyree, his body screams to be one that will need to put on a few pounds before I can see him being a viable threat.
The best thing I can say about Notre Dame’s running game as we head into 2020?
Ian Book is back for a fifth year and as much flack as he gets, his 546 rush yards a season ago were the second most on the team and went a long way in carrying the Notre Dame running game. With no backs currently in place that excite you very much it makes think we’re headed to another season of Ian Book needing to probably run for another 500 yards or so if the Irish are going to be threatening another 10 win season.
