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Notre Dame's running back room has the best one-two punch in the nation this past season. Stars Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 2,076 rushing yards, 29 rushing touchdowns, 367 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 2025. Most team's would have difficulty replacing one of the two star running backs. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider are tasked with replacing both impact players in a single offseason. Thankfully, two of the highest rated players in the 2026 recruiting class for the Irish on offense will be headed to the running back room which will cushion the blow of losing two premier backs to the NFL Draft. 

Impactful Departures

Let's start with Love. He finished the regular season with 1,372 rushing yards, 280 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns. The St. Louis native was a Heisman Finalist and the trip to New York for the ceremony, was named a Unanimous All-American and became the first Doak Walker Award winner at Notre Dame in program history. Replacing the 6-0, 214-pound running back would be a difficult task for any program. Love left his mark on the program as the best running back I've seen go through South Bend in my lifetime. 

Price was also named a first and second team All-American by various outlets due to his work as a kick returner. He was a 100-yard kick return against Purdue in the second home game of the season as well as a 100-yard kick return against USC in prime time to retake the lead in the second half. The Texas native also rushed for 674 yards on the season, 11 rushing touchdowns, caught six passes for 87 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Price was the best lateral cutter I've seen come through this program and his explosive play making ability will truly be missed. 

The Irish also lost running back Gi'Bran Payne to the transfer portal. He has since committed to the University of Cincinnati to finish his collegiate career. Payne was the primary 3rd down running back in the 2023 offense. He racked up 168 rushing yards, 58 receiving yards and four total touchdowns in 2023 but a knee injury in 2024 sidelined him and paved the way for younger running backs to work their way into the rotation. 

Exciting Additions

The efforts on the recruiting trail by this Notre Dame coaching staff have not gone unnoticed. They just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to On3 and the two running backs Seider and the recruiting staff brought in are a big reason why. The Irish brought in Georgia native Jonaz Walton and Texas native Javien Osborne and both players had exceptional high school careers. Both players were consensus four-star recruits and Irish Breakdown graded them out with a five-star upside grade. These are two extremely talented kids. 

Walton finished his high school career with 5,965 rushing yards, averaged 8.6 yards per carry in his career, rushed for 70 touchdowns and recorded 32 games with 100 or more yards. The 5-9, 208-pound back also finished his high school career with 99 receptions, 1,440 receiving yards, averaged 14.5 yards per catch and 11 receiving touchdowns. Walton was also named 2023 Region Offensive Player of the Year, an All-State player in 2023 and 2024 and was a state runner up in the 100m. 

Osborne finished his high school career with 4,077 rushing yards, averaged 7.4 yards per carry, had 19 games with 100 or more rushing yards and 61 rushing touchdowns. All that was accumulated in three years. The 5-10, 200-pound running back also finished high school with 376 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Osborne was 2024 and 2025 First Team All-District, 2025 All-State and a 2024 Under Armour All-American. 

Both Osborne and Walton have the opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact and both players will be early enrollees this spring. The talent in the running back room as a whole is extremely promising and more proven than what some may think. Replacing Love and Price will be difficult, but adding these exceptional high school backs to the mix this offseason helps cushion the blow significantly. 

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