The Fighting Irish made a bit of NFL Draft history Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame became the first program ever to have the first two running backs selected, as Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 overall and Jadarian Price closed out the first round at No. 32.
For Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider, landing Price felt almost too good to be true, as the draft broke the right way late in the first round.
“He kind of stood alone,” stated Schneider. “Great player. The person's outstanding, the competitor. He's just a Seahawk. It's really cool. We were kind of actually concerned that people were going to go ahead of us because it felt like it was just so out there in terms of mock drafts and what have you.”
Price, who totaled 1,692 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns at Notre Dame, had a strong sense Seattle could be his landing spot, but he made a point to tune out the noise.
“You hear a lot of things and me being the person I am, I try not to listen to all the noise and the media and NFL Network and everything,” Price explained. “I knew that Seattle was pretty interested in me. They knew the type of player I was, what I bring to the program, and I didn't know what exactly was going to happen. I'm so blessed to be in this position and be picked by the Seattle Seahawks.”
The Texas native will be coached by none other than former Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock, who left for Seattle in February.
Hammock took the time to get to know Price during the pre-draft process, which led the Notre Dame alum to feel even more strongly that he would end up in Seattle.
“Coach Hammock, we had a couple of good conversations,” Price stated. “One at the combine and then one Zoom where we just talked for about 45 minutes. Just straight ball and getting to know each other. It just felt like it was going to be a good fit for me.”
And yes, Hammock has joked with Price about the 2024 Notre Dame-NIU game.
“That's a funny story,” laughed Price. “Every time we talked previously, he's always mentioned it. One thing he joked about, he's like, ‘If I were y'all's coach, I would have handed you the ball more and y'all wouldn't have lost.’ Just hearing him say that was pretty funny, but yeah, he's a good guy.”
Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald was also asked about fit on Thursday night and it was Price’s character that stood out even more than his elite football skills.
“You just learn about the person, about the leadership, the resiliency, the humility,” explained Macdonald. “I mean, just the commitment to Notre Dame by staying there. Loyalty. It’s like his family story, all those things. It’s a cool story, someone that you get excited about, you love talking to and you can envision him just sticking out here. You can feel him in the building and feel like he's one of us.”
Price steps into a major opportunity. Seattle is fresh off a Super Bowl win and will be replacing former starter Kenneth Walker III, who signed with Kansas City after rushing for 3,555 yards and 29 touchdowns over four seasons.
With Zach Charbonnet recovering from an ACL injury, the door is open early for Price, especially in a scheme tailored to his strengths.
“We're going to run wide zone and he's going to run wide zone,” said Macdonald. “We're going to run some gap scheme and he's going to run some of that, too, and then in the pass game, he can come alive. I think that's a part of our offense in general that we can take another step in, including our halfbacks in the pass game.
“He's a great special teams player, as well, in the kick-return stuff. We'll see how it shakes out in other phases, but he's going to come in and compete with the rest of the guys.”
Some coaches or teams may have hung up on Price not starting in college, but Schneider didn’t have those concerns in the least.
“Believe it or not, it really wasn't that hard because his pro day was outstanding,” Schneider explained. “I’m very good friends with his agent. His agent went to him a couple years ago and was like, ‘You need to improve in the passing game or whatever.’
“He would on his own, listen to him. Went and got with his receivers group and worked with those guys, the receiver coach, too. I just think it's a pretty cool story that those two guys drafted in the first round from the same school. It was really a story you watched, like, the whole fall. I mean, these guys were dynamic, the two of these guys, different runners.”
At the end of the day, Price’s ability to get into the end zone sold the Seattle staff. 27 career touchdowns as the backup running back spoke volumes and one game in particular stuck out to Schneider.
“One of his super talents is basically just his ability to cut back and then crease it,” Schneider said. “He has home run speed. He has a lot of explosive runs and he's returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, two this year. That's such a unique feel. The USC game was ridiculous. That's like the instant acceleration.”
Decision-making has always been a strength of Price and he demonstrated that on Thursday night in his hometown of Denison, Texas.
“It was wild because I was walking around the whole home and as soon as Seattle was up, I was like, ‘Alright, this is the last one. I'm going to sit down.’
“As I was going to sit down, I got the call and emotions just hit. I thought I would be a little bit more calm, but that phone call is a little different when you get that phone call. It's just immediate tears and joy.”
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