Notre Dame Running Back Room Stacks Up Against Any Team In College Football

By now, it's known that South Bend is home to one of the best running back rooms in the country. Notre Dame returns every player in that unit from the 2024 season with the exception of former Penn State transfer Devyn Ford, but he's being replaced by senior Gi'Bran Payne who is returning from injury and true freshman Nolan James. New running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider's unit is consistently being ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 group in the country, but how do they truly compare to the other backfields in the country? 

Last season, Notre Dame's running backs combined for 338 carries, 2,206 rushing yards, averaged 6.3 yards per carry as a unit and totaled 27 touchdowns. Junior Jeremiyah Love led the charge last season as a sophomore with 1,125 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Senior Jadarian Price rushed for 746 yards and seven additional scores on the ground. True freshman Aneyas Williams had some of his biggest moments in the biggest games last season including his 58 yard touchdown run against Army in primetime and his performance in the second half of the Orange Bowl. Williams' classmate Kedren Young is poised for a breakout season in his second year in South Bend as well with the departure of quarterback Riley Leonard. 

Penn State is the other school in debate for the No. 1 spot in the running back position rankings conversation. They had a pair of 1,000 yard rushers last year in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. They join Notre Dame in returning their top four leading rushers from the running back room in 2024. As a unit they combined for 445 carries, 2,454 yards, averaged 4.9 yards per carry and totaled 21 touchdowns. Singleton and Allen carried the bulk of the load accounting for 392 of the 445 carries and 20 of their 21 touchdowns but Corey Smith, Cam Wallace and Quinton Martin Jr. return in 2025 to contribute once again in this offense. 

The Louisville Cardinals that have a backfield that has been severely slept on this entire offseason. They, along with the Irish and the Nittany Lions, return the majority of their running back room production from 2024 outside of Donald Chaney who transferred to Charlotte and Maurice Turner who transferred to Tulane. With that being said, they return their top three rushers from last season in Isaac Brown, Duke Watson and Keyjuan Brown. Last season, that trio combined for 279 carries, 2,013 yards, averaged 7.1 yards per carry as a unit and totaled 21 rushing touchdowns. Brown led the way with 165 carries for 1,173 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. They return as one of the best backfields in the ACC and the country. 

Texas A&M returns their leading rushers from the running back room in 2025 as well. Le'Veon Moss and Amari Daniels combined for 260 carries, 1,426 rushing yards, averaged 5.6 yards per carry last season and combined for 18 rushing touchdowns. Moss wasn't able to finish the rest of the regular season, but he was on pace for an 1,000 yard season. Rueben Owens returns this season fully healthy and ready to round out the Aggies backfield. Once you add in quarterback Marcel Reed's ability with his legs and their offensive line that returns over 3,600 snaps and 57 total starts, this A&M rush offense is poised for a big season. 

There are some really good backfields returning in college football this season, and some of them are on Notre Dame's schedule. Pittsburgh has a dynamic running back room with Desmond Reid leading the charge. The Irish host Texas A&M in week three of the regular season and also play against backs like Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle at Miami, a dynamic playmaker in Hollywood Smothers at NC State and Navy's very experienced and productive backfield led by quarterback Blake Horvath. 

It says something about the Irish having a consensus No. 1 or No. 2 overall backfield in the country when compared to some of these other programs. Love has been named the No. 1 returning running back in the country by multiple outlets including PFF, Athlon Sports and Lindy's Sports. This backfield will be a strong foundation for Mike Denbrock's offense heading into year two and will provide a security blanket for the new and inexperienced starting quarterback this fall.