Notre Dame football: Top 5 running backs in school history

As with any position to play for Notre Dame football, there are more than five players who deserve recognition for their amazing careers. There are eight backs to play for Notre Dame, who made the College Football Hall of Fame but will have to settle for an honorable mention on this list. They are Red Sitko, Bill Shakespeare, Marchy Schwartz, Louis Salmon, Creighton Miller, Elmer Layden, Ray Eichenlaub, and Jim Crowley.

Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley were the other two running backs who made up the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, along with Harry Stuhldreher at quarterback. Layden’s best performance came in the 1925 Rose Bowl when he scored three touchdowns against Stanford. Crowley ran for 1,841 yards in three seasons.

Schwartz was a two time All-American, who also managed win two National Championships. Miller was an All-American and a National Champion. Salmon is third all-time in Notre Dame rushing touchdowns with 33. Shakespeare, along with supposedly being a decedent of William Shakespeare, was an All-American. Sitko made All-American, as well as being 9th all-time for career rushing touchdowns.

It’s not like the players who have made the College Football Hall of Fame are the only worth mentioning. Vagas Ferguson is another All-American, who also managed to win a National Championship with Notre Dame. In Ferguson’s 1979 season he ran for the most yards and the second-most touchdowns in a season for a Notre Dame running back.  Those marks are 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns respectively.

Julius Jones is top 10 in Notre Dame history for both career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, with 3,018 yards and 26 touchdowns. A modern great was Josh Adams, who despite his lack of success in the NFL sits 5th all-time in rushing yards, with 3,198.

That’s not to mention players like Art Smith and Bill Downs who are first and second in rushing touchdowns for a game. Smith, in 1911, ran for 7 touchdowns against Loyola. Downs ran for 6 against DePauw in 1905.

Then, there’s Jerome Bettis. Without a doubt, ‘The Bus’ had the best NFL career of any Notre Dame running back. At Notre Dame, his 1991 season was legendary. He had 20 touchdowns, the most ever in one season for a Notre Dame running back. He had 972 yards that season and never broke the 1,000-yard mark in any given season.

There is an endless line of great Notre Dame football running backs who have shaped the program into what it is today, making it difficult to choose just the five best. That’s why it’s good to recognize those who didn’t make the list here.