Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 17, 2026 17 I was trying to get them used to the clanging and banging of being in the weight room," Will said. When the oldest Walton son, Juliuz, started weight training with his father as an eighth-grader, there was no way to exclude Jonaz and Jacez. They all wanted to be part of the process. "When they got to be able to come into the weight room and actually lift the weights, it was a competition be- tween the three of them," Will said. Each of the Walton boys has bene- fited from their father's training. Juliuz is a redshirt junior defensive lineman at Charleston Southern. Jonaz made his way to Notre Dame. Jacez, whom Rivals ranks as the No. 13 running back in the 2028 class, is a junior at Carrollton (Ga.) Central working through the recruiting process. Jonaz grew to love the weight room so much that he lights up when reporters ask him about it. "It's one of my favorite parts about being an ath- lete," Jonaz said, "and even when I'm done playing, I'll still be working out most days." Jonaz came to appreci- ate the weight room as a place he could utilize to help reach his full potential. He fell in love with the way the work rewarded him with improvements, and he learned the science behind each lift from his father. Squatting and power cleaning became Jonaz's favorite lifts. He maxed out at 600 and 375 pounds, respectively, as a high schooler. "The power cleaning 375 is just as im- pressive as the 600-pound squat," Will said. "But the main thing is just disci- pline. It's more so a mindset than physi- cal gifts. You can learn how to run faster. You can learn how to lift heavier weights. But it takes a certain mindset to be able to go through that type of pain that's as- sociated with success to be able to do it." THE COLLEGE TRANSITION Will Walton was familiar with Notre Dame director of football performance Loren Landow long before either had connections to Notre Dame. Landow was among the strength and conditioning specialists Will studied while he was put- ting together his own workout routines. Naturally, Jonaz has taken to Landow's training since enrolling at Notre Dame in January. "It's amazing the things that he has taught us, the things that he helps our body with," Jonaz said of Landow. "It's amazing. I think he's one of the best strength coaches in the country." The time Jonaz devoted to building up his body — and especially the lower half of his 5-foot-9, 214-pound frame — in the weight room has allowed him to be physically prepared for the challenges of handling a heavy workload as a fresh- man running back. Not only does Jonaz have blazing speed that was verified with a 100-meter dash run in 10.6 sec- onds in high school, but he's hard to take down when a defender does catch him. "It definitely helps a lot with break- ing tackles, just kind of stepping out of those arm tackles, running through, pushing the power forward," Jonaz said. "It definitely helps out a huge amount in that, and then obviously it helps with your speed and how you're able to cut off one leg. "It helps my whole entire game." Notre Dame running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider didn't set low expecta- tions for Jonaz. Before Jonaz played one college snap, Seider projected an NFL future for him. "He's got a chance to play this game for a long time," Seider said in August. "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. Like, he's super smart. They call him the nerd in the room." Jonaz wants to major in computer en- gineering at Notre Dame. And he takes it as seriously as his time in the weight room or on the football field. His father raised him with such a high academic standard that a grade below 95 percent was treated like a failing one. So how is Jonaz handling his first fall semester at Notre Dame? "It's difficult here and there," he said, "but I just got to find time to do things that are important to me." SEIZING THE MOMENT Jonaz Walton didn't even play in Notre Dame's season opener against Wisconsin, but there was never much doubt that he'd find a way to make an impact for the Irish in 2026. The Irish were confident in their top two run- ning backs, junior Aneyas Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr., so Jonaz wasn't the first priority. But when Jonaz took advantage of his opportunities in a blowout victory over Rice in Week 2 — 8 carries for 48 yards — he showed that he might be ready to contribute more. Then when he rushed for 7 carries and 61 yards in a lopsided win against Purdue, Notre Dame offen- sive coordinator Mike Denbrock knew he needed to get Jonaz in the mix earlier in games. "I think we all kind of looked at how he went through fall camp," Den- brock said, "and it was like the times where we put him in critical situations, even in fall camp, it didn't seem too big for him. Like, he wasn't out of his element. And then I think his comfort level continued to rise as the season kind of went along. "… We really were trying to be inten- tional about getting him a little more in- volved, and then [North Carolina] week the opportunity presented itself for that to be a reality. And he absolutely, obvi- ously, took advantage of it." Jonaz's history of handling success suggests that he won't be satisfied with one breakout game in his fresh- man season. Going back to receiving his first scholarship offer from Georgia as a freshman in high school, Jonaz has handled attention with humility and a desire to get back to work. It's a "super- power" his father instilled in Jonaz and his brothers. "Even now with him getting more carries at Notre Dame, 'There's a whole lot more I need to learn,' which is true," Will said of his middle son's mindset. "He hasn't arrived yet. "We need to be consistently putting up numbers like this on a more consis- tent basis with everybody we face." ✦ "When it's a little bit more pressure, he kind of thrives on it a little bit. It makes it more interesting for him. Just like schoolwork. If the rigor is up, he's all for it." WILL WALTON ON HIS SON JONAZ