The names may have changed in Notre Dame's running back room, but Ja'Juan Seider doesn't expect the standard to.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price left South Bend as first-round NFL Draft picks this spring, creating an enormous opportunity for a young group of backs trying to prove Notre Dame's production at the position doesn't have to leave with them.
Aneyas Williams enters preseason camp as the most proven option, while Nolan James Jr., Kedren Young and freshmen Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne are among those competing for roles.
The Notre Dame running backs coach isn't interested in prematurely establishing a pecking order.
"Everybody's assuming Aneyas is going to be the starter," Seider said. "That hasn't come out of my mouth or (Marcus) Freeman's mouth. He's the only one who played that we've seen go do the job. So, if you want to say he's the lead guy, I would say that. But to say who's going to be the starter, that's a slap in the face to everybody in the room. You've got an equal opportunity to go win the job.
"J-Love ain't here no more. Jadarian Price ain't here. So, it's wide open. That's what everybody wants. So, we compete hard. If we were playing today, it would be Aneyas. But the good thing, we've still got a long way to go."
Williams is the obvious place to start.
He spent the past two seasons playing behind Love and Price and has already demonstrated an ability to contribute in important moments. But with those two gone, his role within the room has changed considerably.
Williams was already developing into a leader even when he was behind Love and Price, according to Seider.
"He's a kid that has a natural leadership ability," Seider said. "You get around Aneyas, he's very confident in himself, which most leaders are, right? But he's also a kid that can take coaching. Like, he can take peer coaching. And that's the first thing you look at being a leader, because I tell the guys all the time: Being a leader is uncomfortable, because you've got to hold guys accountable. And when you hold guys accountable, you've got to make sure you're living up to the standard.
"He was a leader last year. He was the best leader in the room last year from a vocal standpoint. You're just in a reserve position."
Williams' practice habits have helped him establish himself as the early leader for the job.
Seider wants his backs practicing in ways that will translate directly to Saturdays, something he saw from Love and now sees from Williams.
"We always talk about practicing like a pro," Seider said. "And people use that word loosely. But that's what pros do. You have to find your routine and what the standard is, and you set it for the room.
"Your habits show up. And that's what Aneyas is doing a great job of making sure his habits continue to show up. Because if we want to be explosive, we've got to do it in practice. It ain't going to just happen in the game."
Still, Seider has been careful not to allow Williams' experience to become a reason for the rest of the room to concede anything.
That is especially true for Walton.
The freshman enrolled early and participated in spring practice, giving him a head start on Osborne. Seider has already seen enough from Walton to know he expects him to contribute this season.
"Jonaz is competing to play," Seider said. "I'm going to put that out there…With this new rule, five for five, like I told them all, I don't even talk about redshirt in any way. But this kid is too talented to even think about that. He's going to play this year. I don't know when. It could be Game 1. It could be Game 4. This kid's really talented.
"And I don't want to put pressure on him. I want to continue to bring him along. But he can handle it. I'm telling you, he's got a chance to play this game for a long time. I think I've got a good view of what they look like. He's going to play this game beyond Notre Dame if he can stay healthy. He's got the speed. He's got the power. He can go the distance. I mean, he's got it all. And he's got the smarts."
Seider has made his message to Walton and the rest of the room explicit. Williams may be perceived as the starter by those outside the program, but nobody inside the room should treat him that way.
"I told him the other day, we don't take a backseat to nobody," Seider said. "That's the same with the room. You don't take a backseat to Aneyas. If Aneyas is perceived as the starter, y'all make it easy for him, that's y'all's job. Y'all fail, not me. I love all y'all the same. So, we compete for a job. Like, go learn to play. I have coached freshmen that's been starters.
"He's going to play this year. When? We're going to find out during this camp."
Osborne is starting from a different place after arriving in the summer, but Seider's philosophy is to prepare every player as if he'll be needed.
The same applies to Young, who missed all of last season with an injury and now has an opportunity to establish himself in the rotation. The 5-foot-11, 234-pounder possesses the physical profile Seider wants. Now, the question is whether he can turn those traits into production.
"His build is built to play running back," Seider said. "You know what I mean? Powerful, low center of gravity, can catch the ball. Now he's just got to go out there and do it. He's like that dream, right? We all had that good dream. We wake up and we wait for it, if it's going to show up. We've got to get this kid to Wisconsin and see if he can go do it for us. That's the thing.
"I told him that. You've got to continue to develop, because you haven't played yet. I mean, I know you played a little bit as a freshman, but you missed all last year. So, to me, you're no different than Jonaz. That's why I said what I said. We need to bring all of them along. It's a long season. If we want to go, we want to go. We're going to need them all."
James represents another intriguing option.
Seider watched James put himself in position to contribute as a freshman last season and believes the sophomore's athletic background and football intelligence have helped prepare him for a larger opportunity.
"Nolan was this guy last year that came in, gave himself an opportunity to be ready to go play in Week 1," Seider said.
"So, that's what's unique. We're recruiting the right type of guys from the FBI, football intelligence. Like, they have that. And they have the ability to play. So, it's an exciting time. It's their time to go shine."
Notre Dame has seen this transition before.
Kyren Williams eventually gave way to Audric Estimé. Estimé's departure created a larger opportunity for Love, who ultimately developed into one of the nation's premier backs.
Now it's somebody else's turn.
"That's why J-Love became J-Love," Seider said. "There was a guy in front of him, right, Audric. Before Audric became him, it was Kyren. So, there's been guys that step up."
Replacing two first-round picks won't be the responsibility of one player. Seider expects Williams, James, Young, Walton and Osborne to continue pushing one another throughout camp because he believes Notre Dame will eventually need contributions throughout the room.
And despite everything the Irish lost, Seider isn't lowering his expectations for the position.
"They know if we want to go play the way we want to play at the end of the year, we've got to do our job. And I'm confident in saying that. That room will show up. It would not be the weak link."
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