Targeting Big Play Backs
The first three recruiting classes for Brian Kelly produced a fair share of quality football players for the Irish. The one glaring issue with that group was the lack of explosive skill position players, though.
They just didn’t sign enough of them. They could have really used more game breaking speed to help produce big plays on offense. It’s a big reason why those early Notre Dame offenses were not overly successful. The best mark for them in yards per play in Kelly first five seasons was 35th.
Then in 2015 things changed drastically. The Irish shot up all the way to 6th in YPP. After stumbling back down to 43rd the next season, they finished tied for 21st in 2017.
So much of that had to do with them being able to provide explosive plays in ‘15 and ‘17 (10th in IsoPPP both of those years). They weren’t able to do that in ‘16 (57th).
A lot of that success in those two seasons had to do with personnel. It’s not easy to manufacture those kind of plays if a program doesn’t land the players who can create them and typically that comes from speed. That’s why identifying and then signing prospects with big play potential is critical in every recruiting cycle.
The Irish had a back that could break a big run at any moment in Josh Adams last season. They are hoping for the same with an expanded role for Dexter Williams this fall. It’s important that they add to the running back room in the next class to replace some of that ability they are losing with Adams (and eventually Williams).
There are more than a few running back prospects on Notre Dame’s board that could help with that.
Chez Mellusi (Naples, FL) is someone that can take it to the house if he gets a crease. He hits the turbo button on this run and is gone despite the defender looking like he had the right angle to make the play.
Another speedy option in the backfield is Zach Charbonnet (Westlake Village, CA). There is a little bit of Josh Adams to his game where he can make defenders miss with lateral agility better than one would assume with his upright running style, but then when he finds the open field, he can run away from people.
Kyren Williams (St. Louis, MO) is someone that could play running back or receiver. At either spot he has a potential to break a game open. It’s not just about him in a flat race because I’m not sure that he would always win in that scenario. But it’s his vision and acceleration that get him into a situation to shake defenders at the third level like he does on this play.
Recent offer Kenan Christon (San Diego, CA) is another back that can fly. He ran a 10.58 100 meters just over a week ago and that track speed shows up on film. He's a different level of fast.
Notre Dame hasn’t had problems landing a fair share of elite talent on the offensive line. That talent helped pave the way for those explosive runs by Adams last season.
But if Adams didn’t have the ability he had, many of those runs could have been for 25 yards instead of 60. These four backs have the potential where they could go 60 if they get those same kind of holes to run through. That’s exactly the type of back the Irish would love to land in this recruiting class.