Tarean Folston Primed To Lead Fighting Irish Rushing
By Walt Kosin
Notre Dame needs Tarean Folston to start quickly in 2015
If Notre Dame is to have a great season this fall, Tarean Folston will have to lead the rushing attack. As he has done the last two seasons, Tarean will be up to the task.
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The native of Cocoa, Florida was a four star running back out of Cocoa High School. He ran for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior season. As a defensive back, he had four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. He also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. He made the Florida 4A first team all state.
Nationally, Tarean was ranked the 66th player on ESPN 300, 119th in the Rivals 250. He was also honored by being selected to play in the Under Armour All American game.
Tarean came to the Fighting Irish as a four star player and it was thought that he would back-up Greg Bryant, a five star running back who was also from Florida. Bryant was injured and red-shirted in 2013, while Folston had a very good season for a freshman. Last season Tarean played ahead of Bryant and lead the team in rushing. With Bryant dismissed from school, this season Tarean is expected to lead the Fighting Irish rushing attack with C. J. Prosise as his back-up and sophomore Justin Brent in line for some reps.
Folston played in 12 games in 2013 and started two games against B.Y.U. and Rutgers. He rushed for 470 yards on 88 carriers and caught five passes for 35 yards. He also had three rushing touchdowns. Tarean’s best game as a freshman was the Navy game in which he ran for 140 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. Tarean ran for 78 yards against B.Y.U. on 13 carries and scored a touchdown. He concluded his freshman season by running for 73 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown against Rutgers in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
Last season, Tarean played in all 13 games and started ten of them. He led the team in rushing with 889 yards on 175 carries and also had six touchdowns. Tarean shared the running back duties with Cam McDaniel and Greg Bryant, but he was the best running back on the team. An interesting note on Tarean’s year was that eight of his ten carries on third down resulted in first downs and he averaged 6.2 yards per carry on third down. He showed that he was at his best at the most critical times.
Among Tarean’s best games as a sophomore was the North Carolina game. He ran for 98 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns including two on the ground and his first touchdown reception. Tarean ran for 120 yards on 21 carries in the heart-breaking loss to Florida State. Against Navy, Tarean rushed for a career best 149 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 38 yards. He concluded his season by rushing for 73 yards on 21 carries in Notre Dames big victory over L.S.U. in the Music City Bowl.
With 20 of 22 starters returning to the Fighting Irish this fall, Notre Dame is expecting a great season. The offensive line appears to be one of the best in the country, as we got a preview of that in the Music City Bowl, where the offensive line completely dominated the L.S.U. front seven. With Tarean Folston leading the rushing attack, this junior should rush for 1,000 yards and if that happens, Fighting Irish fans will see this team in the college playoffs in January.