Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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In 2018, senior Dexter Williams was yet another example. Having never carried the ball more than 39 times in a season and then getting suspended the first four games in his final go-round, Williams finally detonated with a team-high 995 rushing yards (354 more than his first three years combined), 6.3 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns. It followed the "Where did he come from?" pattern at the position through this decade. • In 2012, senior Theo Riddick returned to running back after playing at wide receiver/ slot his first two seasons under Kelly and rushing for only 92 yards on 25 carries in 2010-11. As a senior for the 12-1 Irish, not only did Riddick — originally recruited as a running back — rush for a team-high 917 yards, but he also was the third-leading receiver with 36 grabs for 370 yards. • Cam McDaniel (2013) rushed for a total of 134 yards his first two seasons (2011-12) and was auditioned at cornerback in 2012, where there was more of an opening for play- ing time. Yet, as a junior in 2013, he rushed for a team-high 705 yards to earn a captaincy the following season. • In 2015, C.J. Prosise was shifted to run- ning back after having begun his career at safety (2012) before moving to wide receiver (2013-14), where he rushed for 126 yards as a junior, mainly off jet sweeps. As a full-time senior running back, Prosise romped for 1,029 yards, 6.6 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns for the 10-3 Irish while becoming a third-round pick. Now in 2019 and beyond, Jafar Armstrong has all the makings to become the next out- of-the-blue (and gold) running back to thrive under Kelly. Recruited as a wide receiver from powerful Bishop Miege High in Roeland, Kan., where his 172 career catches netted 3,744 yards, highlighted by a state-record 45 touchdown grabs, Armstrong was redshirted in 2017 be- fore he was entrusted by the coaching staff to make the shift to running back in the spring of 2018 for several reasons. First, leading 2016-17 rusher Josh Adams opted to turn pro after his junior season. Next, third-leading rusher Deon McIntosh and freshman C.J. Holmes were both dis- missed from the team because of off-the-field violations. McIntosh transferred to East Mis- sissippi Community College — which has the "Last Chance U." moniker — while Holmes enrolled at Penn State. Third, Williams' suspension for at least the first four games in 2018, with the possibility that he would not return, left the position in even more limbo. Finally, it was the skills and competitive mindset of the 6-1, 220-pound Armstrong that made the staff believe he could flourish at his new position. The Transition Year The first priority for Armstrong was learning the basics of running with a lower pad level. Still, by the time August arrived, Kelly referred to him as one of the best- conditioned athletes he has ever had via the Global Positioning System data that the coaching staff monitors to gauge players' work volume capabilities. "We've never had them as high as his," Kelly said last August of Armstrong's GPS metrics. Shortly thereafter, the effusive praise continued. "Jafar is the closest thing I've had to Theo Riddick since I've been here," Kelly said. "Tenacious, can go all day, runs physical in- side and has the skills to catch the ball coming out of the backfield. "I'm not ready to put him in that category, but I'm just comparing him to the kind of player he is. We haven't had that guy that can bang it up inside with that physicality. C.J. [Prosise] was nice, but he wasn't Jafar [running inside]. He had great speed. … This kid is going to be a really good player for us." The mention of Riddick was particularly notable because he has been the Kelly model of the prototype back in his system with the combination of physicality, assignment con- sciousness, receiving skills and blocking acu- men, both with the run and blitz pickup. Others such as Cierre Wood, George At- kinson III, Jonas Gray and even Adams had Armstrong rushed for 383 yards and seven touchdowns, while also catching 14 passes for 159 yards, in his first season at running back last year. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BY LOU SOMOGYI F or many of Notre Dame's running backs in head coach Brian Kelly's era (2010-present), it's not about where they began their seasons or careers, but where and how they finished them. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 59