Dissecting the Depth Chart: Running Back

5th in rushing S&P+. 7th in rushing offense. 3rd in yards per carry. 15th in rushing touchdowns. Tied for 1st in rushes of 30 yards or more. Those numbers say it all. Notre Dame ran the ball better last season than it had for majority of the last two decades.

And they wouldn't have come close to that type of production without  Josh Adams.

He was the clear cut number one back last season. Three other backs played a good amount of snaps, but the offense relied on Adams and he delivered in a big way.

2018 is going to be a much different story. Adams is gone and there are still questions about who will replace him. It could very well be a committee of players unless a clear cut top option emerges. I think that is what will eventually happen, but it could be a group effort early on with a muddled depth chart until then.

Explosive Options

From his first fall camp it was clear Adams was someone with the ability to run away from college defenders. Dexter Williams has that same ability and is actually more explosive than Adams. It hasn’t taken him many carries in games to showcase it either.

Throw out the speculation about his availability early in the season and there would still be concern about him being a starter they can rely on, though. He has not been good enough with his blocking or receiving to be counted to be on the field for every down earlier in his career and last season injuries were also an issue.

Even if he doesn’t show improvement in the areas he needs to and isn't around to show that improvement, he can still be a valuable piece in the backfield in 2018. He is probably the only player on the roster that is capable of breaking a 60 yard run at any moment.

A wild card in the big play department is converted receiver Jafar Armstrong. He missed some time in the spring, but showed tantalizing glimpses in the spring game with his speed. That’s not enough to go on to expect he can be the next CJ Prosise for the Irish so he will have to have a big fall camp to let the coaches know where he stands in the mix this season.

Can he earn carries or even be a sub-package player? We’ll have to wait and see.

All-Around Options

If there were odds on who will play the most snaps at the position, Tony Jones Jr. would be a heavy favorite in my mind. Some other players may have a single skill greater than him, but he is strong in so many areas.

He is a heck of a blocker. He can catch and do far more than he was asked to last season in that area. He can run with power as well.

The offense can pretty much run whatever play they want with him in the game without worry. That means they would be less predictable with him in the game and that’s a very good thing.

For the most part, he never got to show what he could do as a runner in 2017. In limited carries he didn’t excite like Williams and he frankly does not have that same kind of twitch. However, he did average 6 yards per carry in the final nine games. I also think he is the kind of player who can be better if given a chance to get into a rhythm rather than being handed the ball sporadically.

The opportunity will be there for him to be the man. Can he run with it?

Jahmir Smith does not have the same kind of odds to play the most snaps, but I think he is guaranteed to play this fall and it wouldn’t surprise me if he played a lot. As an early enrollee this past spring, he certainly fit in physically. He proved he belongs.

One area that I didn’t know much about him as a player was as a receiver and he caught the ball well in the spring game. That’s big because he wasn’t going to play this year unless he showed he can play on every down. I don’t think that will be much of an issue with him.

Smith can run physical and be a tackle breaker too. He has a downhill mentality as a runner, which is why I think he has a chance to become a closer in some games much like Deon McIntosh was last year. He might be forced to be more than that and it isn’t out of the question that he might force the issue as well if he carries the momentum from spring into a standout fall camp.

The biggest unknown in all of this is true freshman C’Bo Flemister. He’s a very talented runner with the traits to become a great player, but comes from a small school and is going to be the lowest on the depth chart to start camp.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the new redshirt rules helped them take a look at him early in the season. Maybe they throw him in the deep end of the pool and he swims? If he sinks, he can still keep a year of eligibility.

Gadget Guy

No one wants to insert a guy into a game and have the defense know he is getting the ball, which is why I am very interested to see what they do with Avery Davis. I wouldn’t expect him to compete as a regular running back. I see him as more of a gadget player that is used for 10-15 plays a game, but he can’t have a bullseye on him every time he takes the field either.

How creative can Chip Long get with Davis in the backfield? Will he ever be the single back or will another back be on the field as well? Could he potentially be a consistent option on 3rd down for the Irish?

It was fun to see how they used in the spring game. Hopefully we see at least some of that this season and if he is making plays, it might be a lot more of it as the calendar progresses.