Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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running backs Open Field The opportunity is waiting for one or a number of promising ball carriers to take over the Irish offense By Dan Murphy otre Dame's backfield will look different this year. There has been more turnover in the past nine months in that group than anywhere else on the field. Graduations, a huge suspension and exciting new prospects will lead to a depth chart fully stocked with new faces and numbers. Aside from what names they'll be calling, though, the Irish coaching staff doesn't expect their plan to run the ball to change in 2013. Gone are senior running backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood. That veteran duo combined for 1,659 yards rushing before running their way into the NFL in the spring. Notre Dame leaned on Riddick and Wood, especially Riddick, to put the finishing touches on many of their wins last year. They both succeeded throughout the season in grinding away time and yardage in the fourth quarter to wear down opposing defenses. The departed seniors leave a void in that regard, one that is exacerbated by the season-long suspension dealt to mobile quarterback Everett Golson in May. Golson ran for 298 yards as a rookie starter last fall after settling into a comfort zone in the read option five games into the regular season. He would have been third on the team in rushing yards if not for the 106 yards he lost on sacks while trying to pass the ball. Notre Dame has options to keep the running element of the quarterback position alive with senior Andrew Hendrix and freshman Malik Zaire, but neither has the experience of senior Tommy Rees, who opposing defenses will likely ignore as a running threat. Consequently, more onus will fall on the relatively young group of running backs to produce on the ground. N "The offense isn't going to change. We're going to do what we do. Just the bodies and the names are going to change. They'll decide who plays." Running backs coach Tony Alford Junior Cam McDaniel lined up at cornerback during the spring last year, before returning to running back in the fall and finishing with 23 rushing attempts for 125 yards and two receptions for 41 yards. Photo by Bill Panzica rushing yards Per Game Year Rush YPG NCAA Rank 2003157.2 56 2004127.4 85 2005147.1 55 2006125.7 72 200775.3 115 Year Rush YPG NCAA Rank 2008109.7 100 2009128.3 84 2010126.6 92 2011160.4 54 2012189.4 38 Running backs coach Tony Alford isn't concerned about his group filling in the gaps. Notre Dame will continue to try to win games at the line of scrimmage, he said. The only thing left to be decided is which guys will get the ball. "The offense isn't going to change. We're going to do what we do," Alford said this spring. "Just the bodies and the names are going to change. They'll decide who plays. "When Michael Floyd left [after the 2011 season] everyone said, 'Oh my goodness, Notre Dame can't play football any more, better shut this thing down.' All the sudden we started throwing the ball to Tyler Eifert and Theo Riddick emerges, and we're making moves that way. … We are who we are, and we're going to do what we're going to do." The who has yet to be decided. Options and opportunities still abound for all six scholarship running backs on the depth chart heading into August's training camp. The coach hopes that will eventually breed the competition the Irish need to keep the strong forward momentum they've created in the run game since head coach Brian Kelly's staff took over in 2010. In the past two years, Notre Dame's average rushing yards per game has increased roughly 30 yards each year for a total jump from 126.6 yards per game in 2010 to 189.4 yards per contest in 2012. That most recent number topped 200 yards during the regular season before Alabama held the rushing attack in check during the BCS National Championship when Notre Dame had to play catch-up right away. The flip side of that argument is that while the Irish have plenty of possibilities, they lack any really solid, proven answers at the running back position when they enter fall camp. Each player enters training camp with questions hanging over his head. 48 ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 48-53.RBs.indd 48 6/25/13 2:39 PM