Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/140522
running backs player biographies Position Coach Tony Alford has been in charge of the running backs for most of his college coaching career, with the exception of his first two years in South Bend when he mentored the wide receivers under Brian Kelly. He added running backs coach and recruiting coordinator duties in 2012, while also instructing the slot receivers. In Alford's first year as the recruiting coordinator, Notre Dame's class of incoming freshmen was ranked fifth nationally by 247Sports. The 23-man haul included two five-star athletes and 17 four-star prospects. Following National Signing Day in 2013, he was named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals.com and one of the nation's 50 best by 247Sports. On the field, four running backs combined to rush for 2,145 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 378 rushes (5.67-yard average) in 2012, the group's first year under Alford. The team totaled 2,462 yards and 23 scores on the ground, and Notre Dame eclipsed 200 yards on the ground seven times during the campaign — the most for the Irish in a single season since 1996. Theo Riddick (70.5 yards per game) and Cierre Wood (67.5 yards per game) each ranked among the nation's top 100 rushers, making Notre Dame one of just four Football Bowl Subdivision programs to place two players on that list. The coach's group of athletes also combined for 77 receptions for 724 yards and two scores through the air last fall. The Irish receivers averaged 165.8 yards per game under Alford in 2011, which was 66 percent of the team's passing output. Michael Floyd thrived with a singleseason school-record 100 receptions for 1,147 yards and nine touchdowns. The eventual first-round NFL Draft pick was just the second Notre Dame receiver to record multiple seasons with at least 60 receptions, and he set school career records for receptions (271), receiving yards (3,686), receiving touchdowns (37), yards per game (85.7) and 100-yard contests (17). Alford was also one of six finalists for the 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year award in 2011, and was also named one of the country's top 25 recruiters by Rivals.com. In 2010, the Irish pass catchers averaged 253.1 receiving yards per contest under Alford's guidance. Most notably, Riddick made a smooth transition from running back to wide receiver, hauling in 40 receptions for 414 yards and three scores in nine games. In his first season with the Irish in 2009, Alford served as the running backs coach under head coach Charlie Weis and helped the Irish backfield raise its previous year's average yards per carry from 3.9 to 4.8. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, the 18-year coaching veteran tutored ball carriers at five different schools and produced a 1,000-yard rusher seven times. His previous experience includes stints at Louisville (2007-08), Iowa No. 4 3 33 32 1 25 BGI's 2013 Depth Chart Running Back George Atkinson III Amir Carlisle Cam McDaniel Will Mahone Greg Bryant Tarean Folston Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-1 217Jr./2 5-10 185 Jr./3 5-10 199Jr./2 5-11214So./4 5-11 200 Fr./4 5-10 190 Fr./4 Freshman Tarean Folston rushed for 4,268 yards and 46 touchdowns the past three seasons at Cocoa (Fla.) High School. photo courtesy 247sports 52 ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 48-53.RBs.indd 52 6/25/13 3:55 PM