Watching Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price during the 2025 season was pure joy for Notre Dame fans, but now that dynamic duo is off to the NFL. What incredibly large shoes the returners and newcomers in the room have to fill, but the good news for Notre Dame is that the position remains talented. No, it won't look like it did last season, but the Irish still have the top to bottom talent for the running back group to remain a strength of the offense. Let's look at the running back depth chart as we transition into the 2026 season.
PROJECTED RB DEPTH CHART
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Aneyas Williams - 58 carries, 443 yards, 7.6 YPC, 7 TD / 20 catches, 212 yards
Kedren Young - 21 carries, 116 yards, 5.5 YPC, 1 TD
Nolan James Jr. - 14 carries, 37 yards, 2.6 YPC
WHAT WAS LOST
No team lost more from the running back position than Notre Dame. The duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price were the heart of the offense last season. Love became Notre Dame's first Doak Walker Award winner after rushing for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Price racked up 674 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry. The pair also combined for 33 catches for 367 yards and five touchdowns.
WILLIAMS GETS HIS SHOT
Junior Aneyas Williams has never had to be "the guy" at Notre Dame, so he will certainly need to prove he can be the lead dog in the backfield. Despite his lack of being the leading man, Williams has certainly played in meaningful snaps at Notre Dame. He was the team's third-down back as a freshman in 2024, and he rushed for 219 yards (6.4 YPC) while hauling in 18 passes for 172 yards. Irish fans remember his impact in the Orange Bowl win over Penn State. Williams caught five passes for 66 yards, and his 15-yard scamper in the third quarter set up Notre Dame's game-tying touchdown.
Williams is a downhill runner that shows impressive vision. He can run with power, can make people miss when he needs to and he should be able to grind out tough yards, something Notre Dame wasn't always good at in 2025. Williams averaged 9.3 yards per carry as a sophomore, and he scored from over 50 yards twice on just 24 carries. Williams also had a 30-yard score in the win over Syracuse and caught a 25-yard pass in the win over Stanford. That's a lot of big plays in limited action.
As a freshman he was an outstanding pass blocker and he is an outstanding pass catcher. That all-around ability should allow Williams to become an impactful playmaker in the Irish offense.
YOUNG REMAINS A QUESTION MARK
Notre Dame seemed to be pushing Kedren Young for a key role as a sophomore before an ACL injury ended his season before it even started. Young had an impressive spring, showing improved pass catching skills to go with a physical running style. The Texas native is a nimble athlete despite being listed at 240 pounds. He rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries (5.5 YPC) as a freshman, and if he can return to health he could rack up a lot more than that.
The concern with Young is that with his size and running style, a slow return from the knee injury could keep him from being an impact runner. If he can return to health, Young has the skillset to form a really, really productive one-two punch with Williams. While Young can catch the football, his impact would be primarily as a punishing runner that can slash and pound defenses. A healthy Young would also give the Irish a chance to improve their short-yardage and red zone production.
JAMES WILL MAKE A PUSH
The most overlooked player in the backfield is redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr. Much of the returning focus is on Williams and James, while the incoming freshmen will garner a great deal of buzz as well. James wasn't as highly regarded coming out of high school as the other backs on the roster, and he suffers from a bit of "middle child" syndrome on the roster. But make no mistake, James is a talented runner that will be very, very hard to keep off the field if given the opportunity.
James is a well-built runner that combines a great feel for the position with strong all-around athleticism. His agility and foot quickness is impressive, he has really good balance, e's quick, shows good suddenness as a runner, he runs with authority and he's an outstanding pass catcher. If he gets an opportunity this spring I could see him making a hard push for carries.
ROOKIE TALENT IS ELITE
Notre Dame's freshman class solidifies the Irish depth chart at running back. No team in the country signed a better RB class than the Irish, who added Texas star Javian Osborne and Georgia standout Jonaz Walton. Both backs have big time talent and possess the combination of size, athleticism and running back skill to make an immediate impact. The returning players will need to be on top of their game this spring and in fall camp if they are going to keep these two talented young players off the field.
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