Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MATT JONES T arean Folston could not pin- point the reason why he's failed to live up to his own ex- pectations this season. The Notre Dame senior running back has been minimized in the Irish attack in 2016, making the Cocoa, Fla., native a shadow of his former self. "It's definitely not where I thought I'd be, not where I planned to be," Folston said prior to the Miami game. Folston is no longer the feature back he once was for Notre Dame, a work- horse who carried the ball 21 times in two separate games during his break- out sophomore season in 2014. As the No. 1 running back that year, Folston had 889 yards and six touch- downs. As a fresh- man in 2013, he finished with 470 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while playing behind juniors Cam Mc- Daniel and George Atkinson III. Through eight games this sea- son, Folston had tallied just 202 r u s h i n g y a r d s and one touch- down, playing a minor role behind sophomore starter Josh Adams. In the passing game, Folston had six catches for 48 yards. During Notre Dame's 3-5 start, Ad- ams played a total of 309 snaps while Folston logged just 140. The only game this season Folston played more than Adams was the opener against Texas (40 snaps to Adams' 32). "Everybody wants to play, but at the end of the day it's not my deci- sion," Folston said. "When I get in the game, I just try to make things happen and help the team out." Folston's highly anticipated junior season never got off the ground. An anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee in the first quarter of the 2015 opener against Texas ended his campaign. From the sidelines, he watched the then-freshman Adams flourish, rushing for a rookie-record 835 yards. This season has brought more injury misfortune, though not as serious. During a Tuesday practice prior to the Oct. 1 game against Syracuse, Folston briefly thought he'd suffered another season-ending injury. He caught a pass from senior quarter- back Malik Zaire and went to make a cut, but his ankle gave out. "I thought it was worse, but I'm glad it was what it is," Folston said. He dressed for the Syracuse game, but did not play. He also didn't see the field against North Carolina State the following week. Folston returned against Stanford and carried eight times for 49 yards. He said he was about 90 percent in that game, although he tried not to think about the pain. When healthy, Folston gives Notre Dame a change of pace when he en- ters the fray. Seventh-year Irish head coach Brian Kelly said it's Folston's vision that makes him effective while ro- tating with Adams and sophomore Dexter Williams. "T is going to wait for it to develop and runs with great vision," Kelly said of Folston. "Both of those guys [Adams and Williams] are physical runners that sometimes want to create the hole. "It's a learned ability. You have to take a lot of reps. You've got to be in there. You've got to see a lot of things. You've got to trust what's happening in front of you." Vision is one of the traits that helped Folston earn four-star recruit- ing status and a ranking as the No. 14 running back in the class of 2014 from Rivals and receive offers from many of the Southeastern Confer- ence's top programs. "Vision is natural. But patience is getting the most windows as pos- sible," Folston said. "You can be pa- tient and make the right cut, but the right cut is going to get you only so far. The patience after that cut can get you the rest of the way. "I've always had good vision. Some things just come naturally to some people, and I feel like that came naturally. I obviously have to work on some stuff and things can still get better, but it came naturally." Folston was part of the same Notre Dame recruiting class as the late Greg Bryant, a five-star running back, and didn't feel threatened by the fellow Florida talent. While Bryant never reached his potential with the Irish, Folston thrived early. "Coming into college you need s o m e b o d y t o h e l p y o u t a k e th e b an gin g at t h i s p o s i t i o n , " F o l s t o n t o l d R i v a l s . c o m a t the 2013 Under A r m o u r A l l - American Game. "It didn't scare m e t h a t s o m e - body committed. G re g ' s a g re a t dude, and I think that we will be a g r e a t d y n a m i c duo once we both get there." Now, Folston is competing for playing time, as well as a position in the NFL. Prior to tearing his ACL, Folston was considered a high draft pick — almost in the same conver- sation as Notre Dame's 2016 draft- ees, wide receiver Will Fuller (first round), linebacker Jaylon Smith (sec- ond round) and offensive tackle Ron- nie Stanley (first round). The 5-9, 214-pound Folston said he's not sure how it will play out and whether he'll return for a fifth year in 2017. Few running backs opt to take extra hits in college rather than try- ing out for the NFL. His body has changed. He's gained about seven pounds since coming to South Bend, but Folston said he feels like the same player he was in 2014. "I'm still the same dude, trying to make the same plays," Folston said. "I'm still growing as a person and a player." ✦ Through eight games this season, Folston had only 202 rushing yards and one touchdown. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE Running back Tarean Folston bides his time while looking to carve out a bigger role during his senior season "WHEN I GET IN THE GAME, I JUST TRY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN AND HELP THE TEAM OUT." FOLSTON