Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 49 RUNNING BACKS Folston said of his improvement from year one to two. "You can never know everything about football, so it was more so studying film, tendencies and cuts that I made." If there was a shortcoming with Folston, it was having more sense of urgency. "Sometimes we've got to challenge him a little bit," Kelly said. "… He's done everything we've asked him to do. I'd just love to have two or three more backs there competing so we'd have a little more competition." One will be classmate and fellow Floridian Greg Bryant, a Rivals five-star recruit who was slowed by a knee injury as a freshman and could not match the reliability of McDaniel nor the all-around devel- opment of Folston. He did finish with the second-most yards on the ground last season with 289, but most of them came when the game was well in hand one way or another, highlighted by seven carries for 79 yards and a touchdown after the Irish had fallen behind 35-0 at USC. Denson, a Floridian himself, said Bryant is more explosive than when he remembered him from a few years ago as an elite recruit. The questions revolve more on details, especially running with better patience, and trusting him in pass protection. It seems the most popular inquiry the past couple of years is on Bryant's progress. Yet classmate Folston is the standout of the class, graduated senior Cam McDaniel was a better blocker and short- yardage runner, and this spring Prosise became the top weapon on offense. This is what big-time competition is. If Bryant merits more touches, he will earn them. Star rankings become irrelevant at this point. Nobody on Notre Dame's 2015 roster better defines the "athlete" recruit than 6-0½, 220-pound Prosise. The 2012 signee arrived as a safety, but made first-team all-state in Virginia as a punt returner, scoring on four of his 18 returns as a senior. Early in his freshman year, Prosise received an audition at outside linebacker when starter Danny Spond went through a health crisis. In the spring of 2013, Prosise was moved to slot to take better ad- vantage of his playmaking skills. This spring, the majority of his time in the practice sessions was at running back while also cross-training as a receiver. On occasion, he still wonders how it might have worked out for him at safety … although he does get over it quickly. "Most of the time I'm looking at safeties in my reads," Prosise said. "I always wonder what could I be doing back there. … When it comes down to it, I'm a receiver at heart and an offensive player at heart. I always wanted to go for the pick at safety instead of the big hit. I guess that's probably one of the main reasons I got moved over." His 2013 campaign as a sophomore was his learning curve while contributing seven catches for 72 yards. His knowledge base of the position was narrow, but in 2014 he reeled in a 53-yard touchdown in the opener. By the end of the season, Prosise had quadrupled his output from the year prior with 29 catches for 516 yards (17.8 yards per recep- tion) and another score. Meanwhile, his 10 carries netted 126 yards. During Notre Dame's swoon last November, his big-play capabil- ity in space, specifically in the yards after catch (YAC), began to manifest itself consistently: • On the second play against Navy, Prosise gathered an intermedi- PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★ National Title Caliber; ★★★ Playoff Contention; ★★ Top 25 Potential; ★ Too Unproven Starters ★★½ After leading the Irish in rushing in the second half of his freshman season in 2013 and all of last season (889) while starting 10 of the games, junior Tarean Folston has evolved into a more complete back as a runner, receiver and blocker. At 214 pounds, he can run downhill, but also has shown the wiggle to make would-be tacklers miss. He has shown the skills and durability to possibly join Allen Pinkett (1983-85), Autry Denson (1996-98) and Darius Walker (2004-06) as the only Irish backs since 1950 to lead Notre Dame in rushing three consecutive years. If he proves it again in 2015, by next year this rating could go up one star. Experience ★★½ While Folston has 175 career carries, classmate Greg Bryant has a modest 57 and senior slot receiver C.J. Prosise, who played mostly running back this spring, had only 10 last season, although they netted 126 yards. Demonstrating the ability and durabil- ity to be consistent over a 12-game regular season is the next phase of development for Bryant and Prosise if they are to get 100 carries at some point in their careers. Bryant rushed for a career-high 79 yards in the debacle at USC to end the regular season, while Prosise's 75 yards in the Music City Bowl win was a seminal moment in his career. Depth ★★★ Because Notre Dame lost its lone running back recruit in 2012 for disciplinary rea- sons (Will Mahone) and struck out at the position in the 2014 recruiting cycle, there was some angst that having only juniors Folston and Bryant in 2015 would make the position fragile. Prior to the spring, incoming freshman four-star recruits Josh Adams and Dexter Williams were projected as needing to aid a backfield that had only two scholarship players. But with the stellar spring from 2013-14 slot man Prosise while working mainly at running back, it might not be as urgent. Overall Grade ★★½ Folston and Bryant were one of the nation's best pair of running backs signed in 2013, and junior year is when most college football players begin to see their abilities come to fruition. The addition of senior Prosise into the backfield stable enhanced the competitive level this spring while adding both a little more speed and power into the overall equation. Bryant and Prosise still need to show it on a weekly basis, not in flashes, so another strong campaign from Folston is essential. Bryant also needs to show he can be trusted by the staff. Year Rushing YPG NCAA Rank 2005 147.1 56 2006 125.7 55 2007 75.3 115 2008 109.7 100 2009 128.3 84 Year Rushing YPG NCAA Rank 2010 126.6 92 2011 160.4 54 2012 189.4 38 2013 151.0 81 2014 159.5 68 ND'S YEAR-BY-YEAR RUSHING AVERAGE The emergence of Prosise as a running back option last December — he had 10 carries for 126 yards last year, including a 50-yard TD run versus LSU — and this spring was a boon to the backfield. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA