Notre Dame Football All-Decade Team: Running Back

The four Notre Dame running backs up for debate: Cierre Wood, Tarean Folston, Josh Adams and Dexter Williams.

Before anyone questions why Theo Riddick and/or CJ Prosise missed the list, I decided it was best to create an athlete or all-purpose section to honor specific players such as themselves. Notre Dame running back recruiting is typically a hotly debated topic, and ironically these four were four of the more heavily recruited running backs the Irish have landed in this decade – it should be no surprise that they end up representing the list.

Cierre Wood (2009-2012)

I want to make one thing clear, I don’t condone or support Cierre Wood’s actions off the field and what he was charged with earlier this year is absolutely horrific. With that said, this is strictly an on-field performance list, but I will keep his section brief. He gave Notre Dame 3 very productive rushing seasons, and is currently 8th on the all-time Notre Dame rushing list with 2,447 yards. His best season came in 2011 when he rushed for over 1,100 yards and 9 scores while also catching 27 balls. Wood finished his Irish career with over 2,800 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns, while average 5.4 yards per carry.

Tarean Folston (2013-2016)

Folston’s career wasn’t what many expected it would be after coming to South Bend as a much heralded recruit — mostly due to a junior year ACL tear. His sophomore year was his best season as the full time starter, rushing for nearly 900 yards and 6 touchdowns and a solid 5.1 yards per carry. I’ll always remember him as a guy that could find ways to pick up a few extra yards because he was powerful, but also oddly slippery and awkward.

After his solid sophomore year, many expected he would be the guy in 2015, but he tore his ACL early on in game 1 which paved the way for CJ Prosise and Josh Adams. He would come back in 2016 for his senior season and form a nice compliment to Adams, but at that point Josh at taken the reigns as the clear best back and Folston simply wasn’t the same player he was prior to the injury.

Although his career was full of what ifs, he still ended up with solid totals. He ran over 1,700 yards and punched it in 13 times all while averaging 5 yard per carry, and it would have been so much more.

Dexter Williams (2015-2018)

Another running back full of what ifs, but mostly due to being in Brian Kelly’s doghouse. Williams was also a really impressive running back recruit out of the Florida High School ranks, but was never a starter until Game 5 of his senior season. However, he is probably the most dynamic back of this decade for Notre Dame. On only 41 touches during his junior year, he totaled 373 yards and 5 touchdowns — an average of 9.1 yards per touch.

In the 9 games he started during his senior season, he would rush for 995 yards 12 touchdowns while adding another touchdown through the air. It seemed as though his career went by in a flinch due to his inability to get more carries early on, but when he did carry the ball it was special to watch. So while he won’t go down in any Notre Dame history books, he certainly left a mark on the Irish faithful. Williams was drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Packers in the 6th round.

Josh Adams (2015-2017)

Part of the same recruiting class as Dexter Williams, Adams was actually the lower rated recruit coming out of high school — in large part because of a torn ACL in high school. However, Adams was the more productive college running back and two year starter before bolting to the NFL after his junior season.

When Folston went down during the 2015 season, Adams would take on a lot of the load along with Prosise and finish the year 838 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns for an average of 7.2 yards per carry. During his sophomore season, Adams would battle through injury, but still lead the way with 933 yards and 6 total touchdowns. His junior year really saw him take off which put him in the Heisman discussion for much of the 2017 season. Adams would run for 1,430 yards and 9 touchdowns, while providing the offense with many big plays and long touchdowns.

He would finish his career (in only 3 seasons) 6th on the Notre Dame rushing yards list, 2nd on the single season rushing yards list – as well as many more accolades such as 4th on the all time single game rushing yards list and running for the longest touchdown in school history.

Adams was truly a special college running back that made the most of his time and talent in South Bend. Williams and Adams in back to back seasons gave Notre Dame fans many highlight reel plays. There is no question that Adams is deserving of All-Decade team running back and the poll and Slap the Sign vote both reflect that.