Notre Dame Football: Running back situation heading into Week 2

After Jafar Armstrong left the game against Louisville with a groin injury, the Notre Dame backfield situation became interesting, quickly. What will it look like this Saturday when New Mexico comes to town?

If you made a list of players that Notre Dame could not afford to lose on the offensive side of the ball, Jafar Armstrong would be near the top. The explosiveness he has provided in the Notre Dame backfield has been immense and adds an entire new dimension to the offense.

However, he is shelved for anywhere from 3-5 weeks with a groin injury, so where does Brian Kelly turn to at the running back position?

The answer is most likely a running back committee, as we saw against Louisville after Armstrong went down. It seems likely that senior Tony Jones Jr. will come out as the starter for the first series against New Mexico and will likely get the bulk of the carries. However, Jahmir Smith impressed and will most definitely get his fair share of looks.

The Irish ran the ball very well against a lackluster Louisville defense, to the tune of 230 yards when the final whistle blew. It was highlighted by Jones with 110 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.

Jahmir Smith also was notable in the short yardage game, as he went for 24 yards on 8 carries and two scores.

Ian Book — somewhat surprisingly — was second on the team in rushing yards with 81 yards gained on 14 carries and a touchdown. Most would agree that Book ran and scrambled far too much against a Louisville defense that he should have been able to torch through the air.

Don’t expect Book to be carrying the ball that much again come Week 2.

Moving forward, Jones and Smith are going to ‘get theirs’ against New Mexico, but in the Brian Kelly era, there are almost always three running backs that get action during the course of a football game. This should hold true against a New Mexico team that Notre Dame is favored to beat by multiple scores.

That third running back will be true freshman Kyren Williams — who was impressive in camp this spring — beating out sophomore C’Bo Flemister for the No. 3 role. Williams earned limited looks against Louisville — mainly because he was yanked by Brian Kelly after dropping a very easy screen pass.

Kelly has been known to be impatient with freshman — especially running backs — but he may be forced to use the impressive freshman against New Mexico and again against Georgia as we look toward the future.

Take note of when Williams takes the field for the Irish. He is a speedster that can make people miss and is a real joy to watch. Hopefully he can make the most of his opportunity this Saturday.