Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1494359
28 APRIL 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA N otre Dame took the three-headed monster mantra and ran with it in 2022. Sophomores Audric Estimé and Logan Diggs and ju- nior Chris Tyree all had at least 100 rushing attempts. It was the first time since 2015 the Irish had three players break the century mark in that category. With each rusher one year stronger and wiser, Notre Dame is ready to run it back in 2023. The Irish go into the upcoming campaign with Estimé, Diggs and Tyree healthy and ready to improve upon a season in which they accounted for 2,670 yards from scrimmage and 23 total touchdowns as a trio. Outside of tight end Michael Mayer, the Notre Dame's running back contingent was the heartbeat of the team's offense considering the issues the Irish had at the quarterback position from Tyler Buchner's shoulder injury to Drew Pyne's strug- gles at times. Head coach Marcus Free- man has continually stated he wants Notre Dame to be a run-first team. To be such, a program has to have the right combination of personnel at the tailback position. That box is certainly checked at the moment. In addition to Estimé, Diggs and Tyree, Notre Dame has two sophomores chomping at the bit in Gi'Bran Payne and Jadarian Price. The former only had 2 carries for 5 yards in 2022. The latter missed the whole season because of an Achilles injury suffered last summer. Both players are motivated to have a strong 2023 for different reasons. Add true freshman Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame's second- highest rated 2023 signee according to On3, to the fold, and the Irish have plenty of skilled ball carriers to work with. If it is graduate student Sam Hartman who starts at quarterback, he will have an elite array of running backs to share the backfield with unlike anything he's had previously in his college career. That's a scary thought for Notre Dame's opponents. 2023 SPRING FOOTBALL OVERVIEW RUNNIN G BAC K S AUDRIC ESTIMÉ PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Deland McCullough (second season) Returning Starters: Sr. Chris Tyree (8 career starts), Jr. Logan Diggs (8) and Jr. Audric Estimé (2) Departing Starters: None Projected Starter: Diggs Top Reserves: Tyree, Estimé, So. Jadarian Price and So. Gi'Bran Payne Newcomer: Fr. Jeremiyah Love ALL EYES ON … JUNIOR AUDRIC ESTIMÉ Estimé led Notre Dame with 920 yards rushing in 2022, and he did it on a team-best 5.9 yards per carry. Sticking with the theme of team-leading statistics, he scored 11 touchdowns on the ground and 1 through the air for a team-high total of 12 — three better than All-America tight end Michael Mayer. If Estimé is even better in 2023, then the Irish offense has potential to be a powerful force. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH WHO'S NO. 3? Audric Estimé and Logan Diggs took a stranglehold on the top two spots in the backfield. Diggs led the team with 165 rushing attempts, while Estimé had 156. CHRIS TYREE came in third with 100. Is Tyree still the third wheel, or can sophomore Jadarian Price come back healthy from his Achilles in- jury to steal some of the spotlight? Freshman Jeremi- yah Love was one of Notre Dame's top overall recruits in the class of 2023, too. Tyree has talented teammates to fend off for his role on the roster. NUMBERS TO KNOW 7 Times Notre Dame rushed for 200-plus yards in 2022. That mark matched the figure set by the 2020 College Football Playoff team. Since 1996, Notre Dame is 106-10 when it rushes for 200 or more yards. That includes a perfect 7-0 record last season. 30 Runs of 10-plus yards for Audric Estimé in 2022. He was one of 30 running backs in the country to reach that number. Of the 30 ball carriers who had 30 runs of 10-plus yards, Estimé had the third-fewest rush- ing attempts among them. Most players needed more than 200 carries to get there. Some had more than 300. Estimé only had 156. 2,191 Combined rushing yards by Notre Dame tailbacks in 2022. Irish running backs had not combined for more than 2,000 rushing yards since blazing by that mark in 2017 (3,502 yards), when Josh Adams paced the group with 1,430 yards. The Irish's by-committee approach should get the team to 2,000 again in 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER