Freshman Jonaz Walton enters a storied Notre Dame backfield, ready to carve his own path and contribute immediately through explosive play.
Notre Dame is quickly ascending as a program that produces top-level running backs on an annual basis. In 2020 and 2021, Kyren Williams had ack to back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and has now had three consecutive seasons with that same production in the NFL with the Rams. In 2022 and 2023, running back Audric Estime had extremely productive seasons in South Bend rushing for a combined 2,261 yards and 29 touchdowns.
In 2024 and 2025 running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price became the best one-two punch in college combining for 3,917 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns the last two years. Both players are now projected as day-one to day-two NFL Draft picks later this spring with Love projecting inside of the top seven picks. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton looks to add his name to the list of prolific Fighting Irish backs.
"It was a different feel when I was here," Walton explained. "I’ve been to a lot of SEC schools; I went around to Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, all those. They have a similar feeling, but at Notre Dame it’s just realistic. It’s one of the best schools in the country and one of the best teams in the nation. One of the big mottos that Coach [Marcus] Freeman reiterates is ‘Choose Hard,’ and that’s what Notre Dame is. It felt different being here, and the coaching staff was just amazing."
The former consensus four-star recruit is walking into a loaded running back room that features some key returners in Aneyas Williams, Kedren Young and Nolan James. Walton is also joined by fellow true freshman running back Javian Osborne who was also a consensus four-star recruit. There's a lot of talent in the room, but also a lot of potential for the Georgia native to see the field.
"Absolutely," Walton responded when asked about the opportunity to contribute right away. "It’s a great room, but it’s a room that has a lot of opportunity. That was definitely one of the big factors. There’s a lot, but the availability of the room that there’s not a proven starter yet, it’s just something I can strive toward."
There's more than one clear-cut path for Walton to find his way onto the field. He's a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and can impact the team in more ways than just lining up in the backfield.
"Special teams is a great way to get on the field," Walton explained. "If that’s what it comes down to, if that’s the way I can play, absolutely. I’m going to give all the effort I can in every single drill, and if it comes to special teams being the way to get on the field, that’s something I know how to do. I’d love to be a kick returner. It’s really fun and I feel like I’ve shown I can do it, but that’s in high school. It’s different in college. That would be a great way to get on the field, but really any way I can get on the field is probably the best way."
Walton and Osborne have the potential to be an electric one-two punch in the Notre Dame backfield for years to come. This is an exceptionally talented unit that running backs coach Ja'Jaun Seider has heading into 2026. As long as the players continue to develop and support each other along the way, there's really no wrong answers when creating a true rotation for the Fighting Irish offense.
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