Notre Dame Freshman Javian Osborne Focused on Playbook, Not Past Production
One would be hard-pressed to find a more productive running back than Javian Osborne.
The 5-foot-9, 197-pound Texas native closed his career at Forney with a staggering 6,602 rushing yards and 107 touchdowns, both program records. And he did it against 6A competition, the highest classification in the state.
That life is in the past.
Osborne arrived at Notre Dame in January and is now looking to get comfortable in South Bend.
“What surprised me was just the classroom,” stated Osborne. “It's different from high school. There's a lot of downtime. You've got a lot of free time on your hands, so understanding what to do during your free time, I had to learn that early on.
“My coach was talking to me about that. I had to do some extra stuff during my downtime to be able to understand the playbook and different things like that. Early on in college, it's different from high school, especially here at Notre Dame. The academics, it's definitely different. It's a lot harder and a lot more, you've got to compete with yourself every day to be able to excel.”
While the classroom required an adjustment, Osborne credits the veterans in the running back room for easing his transition on the field. Despite entering a wide-open competition this spring, the environment hasn’t been cutthroat.
“The room is pretty chill, pretty laid back,” explained Osborne. “We all know it's a competition in there, but for the most part, they're helping us, young guys, me and Jonaz (Walton. They’re helping us in any way possible, whether it's learning the plays or trying to get some extra work.
“If we have questions, we text them. They'll respond and hit us up and understand that we're learning. They were in our same footsteps as well, so they understand it.”
That said, the room also understands it’s a wide-open competition entering the spring.
“When I came here, I knew what I was entering,” said Osborne. “I also knew there was a good chance Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love would go to the draft. I knew the opportunity then and what’s at stake right now. No one is totally proven, even the running backs coach said that.”
Seider and Osborne built a strong relationship in a hurry during the recruiting process, but the Texas native admits he’s seen a different side of his position coach since he arrived at Notre Dame.
It’s the same relationship, but Seider is now making sure the early enrollee is focused on and off the field.
“Now, it's actual business,” Osborne stated. “You want to get onto the field as early as possible. It's business now, so it's all about understanding the playbook, understanding your assignments and what to do, your task at hand, which is just school and football.”
Despite the deep room, Notre Dame has always rotated through its running back room, so there is definitely a shot to earn playing time.
Seider and other schools made sure to pitch that to Osborne during the recruiting process and a healthy rotation is something he embraces.
“You want complementary backs, whether or not you’re an every-down back,” Osborne explained. “You want a power back that can get you 4-5 yards, 6 yards. That was pretty much all the coaches—save your body, make sure you’re 100 percent, which helps you going into Game 8-9-10, 15, and it slows down defenses as well. They’re on the field every series and you’re coming off and staying fresh.”
Athletically, Osborne feels prepared for the jump to college football. The challenge now is mastering the mental side of the game.
“The biggest thing is it’s all a mental game,” stated Osborne. “I know I’m physically built for this. I know I’m ready for this. That’s why Notre Dame recruited me for this reason. They saw that I can compete on this level.
“Now it’s just a mental aspect of learning the playbook, what you’re doing on every down, who your read is, and what everybody else is doing on the field, so you can play at 100 percent. That’s something I’ll take into spring ball and take it to summer and fall camp, being able to understand what’s going on around me.”
Osborne is far from alone in adjusting to college football, as he’s joined by the largest group of early enrollees in program history.
“It’s crazy,” said Osborne. “There’s a lot of us. What is this, the best class in Notre Dame history? There’s definitely something that’s special brewing here in South Bend.”
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