Jadarian Price, Notre Dame Backs Embracing Gritty Yards
Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price waited a long time for the 2023 season opener.
The Texas native missed his freshman season due to an Achilles injury, so the Navy game had likely been circled for months for Price as he worked to make his collegiate debut.
Price toted the rock four times for 25 yards, including his 19-yard touchdown run to put the Irish up 14-0 in the first quarter.
Fast forward to 2024, Price has demonstrated his electric playmaking ability over the last two seasons and has tallied 329 rushing yards on 49 carries this fall, which includes 10 runs over 10 yards.
What’s the secret to Price getting loose? It might be the jump cut. It’s a move Price has mastered through natural athletic ability and his offseason training, but it might be even more impressive considering his Achilles injury.
“Funny enough, a couple of my teammates said, ‘JD, you don’t even cut. You just somehow shift to the opposite gap,’” stated Price. “I thought that was funny. It’s just muscle memory, working on my game and getting a lot of full-speed reps and translating that to the game.”
Price takes a great deal of pride in being able to hit the home run every time he touches the ball as Purdue found out last month. The 5-foot-10, 203-pounder also wants to show he can pick up three yards on 3rd-and-2.
Through seven games, Price has done just that as 263 of his rushing yards have come after contact. In fact, Notre Dame’s entire running back room has embraced getting the tough yards. The Irish have rushed for 1,499 yards this season and 1,044 have come after contact.
“Since fall camp, my personal goal has been getting the dirty, gritty yards,” explained Price. “I feel I’ve continued to do that. Just the tough yards. I think as a running group overall, we’re top in the country for yards after contact and we’re going to continue to do that. I’m up there too with yards after contact and I think that’s a good testament to how I practice and how we practice.”
Buying into the team goals is easier said than done, especially at the running back position. Great teams have players who sacrifice numbers for roles and that’s what Deland McCullough’s room has embraced.
There is no doubt Price or Jeremiyah Love could handle many more carries, but both understand there is much more to team success than carrying the ball 15-20 times a game.
“Ever since Coach McCullough got here, he told us to trust him and trust the process,” Price said. “We truly do trust him and trust the process. You look at this resume at what he’s done at USC and the Chiefs, guys just trust in the process. You’re going to get yours eventually, but at the end of the day, it’s all for team glory and that’s all we care about.”
It’s not just trust and belief in McCullough that has the Notre Dame running back room culture at an all-time high. Price and his teammates consciously work on it outside The Gug and have formed a bond that’s much deeper than football, which in turn helps on Saturday.
“Not many people know, but we spend Thursday nights together getting haircuts, getting pizza or just the other day we all went out to eat together,” Price explained. “We’re a pretty close-knit group and I think we’re closer than the group was two years ago. It just shows the character of our running back room and how Coach McCullough is. It comes down to us and we just want to be better every day.”
Notre Dame has leaned on its run game to get to 6-1, but the passing game has shown signs of life in recent weeks. Price believes they’ve found an identity and it’s only a matter of time before the Irish take off.
”I think since A&M, we’ve developed as an offense,” said Price. “We’ve improved a lot. We, as players, feel that way, and I’m sure the coaches feel that way. We’re continuing to find our identity. I think we’ve found that in the past couple of weeks and we’re continuing to get better.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Field Bound Omni-Tech™ Full-Zip Jacket
