Notre Dame football: Irish snubbed from 2022 top-RB room list
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has questions on the offensive side of the ball, but running back should not be one of them.
The 2022 Notre Dame football team will have their moments on the offensive side of the ball, as they boast one of the best offensive lines in the country, as well as the best tight end. The offensive line could be a Joe Moore Award winner, this after returning all five starters from last season, including Jarrett Patterson, who could have been a Day 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Looking ahead, the weaknesses lie at wide receiver, due to a lack of depth, and at quarterback, where the Irish have yet to name a starter for next season. That is not to say that the talent is not there at both position groups, but there are a ton of question marks surrounding them entering the summer.
One area where there is a ton of depth, and talent, is at the running back spot, where the Irish are four-deep going into 2022. They have a proven player in Logan Diggs, who was outstanding as a true freshman, and Chris Tyree has shown himself to be a legitimate playmaker in his first two seasons.
Recently, Bleacher Report put together a list of the top-8 backfields in the country, and the Notre Dame football team was left off. That is a huge miss.
Notre Dame football RB room is deep and talented
Outside of Tyree and Diggs, which would be an excellent one-two punch for any other program, the Irish also have a dominant running back in Austin Estime, who is entering his second season at Notre Dame. Estime has been more than impressive this spring, and if the Irish get down by the goal line, getting him the ball has to be priority No. 1.
Jadarian Price is a true freshman that was a big get for this program, and I believe he will get some playing time in Year 1 as well. He may be used sparingly, allowing him to keep a redshirt season under his belt, but he has a do-everything skill set that could make him a special player for the Irish down the road as well.
With so many questions at wide receiver, and a quarterback going into his first season as a full-time starter, relying on the run game will prove paramount for the Irish. Despite Bleacher Report not ranking them, this is a special group and could end up being a top-5 unit when all is said and done this season.