Who will be leading the Notre Dame running game in 2026? There are a couple of wildcards emerging in Fall camp already.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the 2026 season without Jeremiyah Love or Jadarian Price in the running back room, but head coach Marcus Freeman's squad still has plenty of talent at the position.
As fall camp enters its second week, the early returns suggest this could be one of the more volatile position groups on the roster. The question isn't whether the room will be good. The question is who will emerge as the top backs and how deep the committee will go.
Junior Aneyas Williams and redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr. are the two most established names in the conversation. Williams showed what he could do as the third back in 2024, and now he has a chance to be the No. 1 option. James is a player the Notre Dame staff is extremely high on. Most expect Williams to carry the top role for the majority of the year, with James slotting in as the No. 2 back.
But two younger players are turning heads this offseason, and they could completely change the formation of that room.
Young came to Notre Dame in the 2024 recruiting class alongside Williams, CJ Carr , and Leonard Moore . Coming out of Lufkin High School in Texas , Young was rated as a top-100 recruit by most platforms and was actually a higher-rated prospect than Williams coming out of Hannibal High School in Missouri .
The problem has been availability. Young was banged up for most of the 2024 season, and the staff preserved his redshirt because of it. Then 2025 was lost entirely due to a preseason knee injury. Notre Dame fans haven't seen much of Young on the field, but the early offseason chatter is very good.
Young was limited during the spring due to injury and wasn't able to participate, but from summer conditioning through the opening of fall camp, he is a player who is turning heads. The early returns from fall camp practices, albeit only a few so far, are very positive.
What makes Young different is his profile.
He brings a level of pure power-based running that Notre Dame doesn't have a ton of on its roster. Williams is a sturdy 210 pounds. James is 215. Jonaz Walton checks in at 211. Those backs all carry some size, but Young is on a different level in terms of power and explosiveness at his weight.
If Young remains healthy, he has a chance to throw a big wrench into the running back pecking order. There's a world where this becomes a three-to-four-man committee, and Young carves out a defined role as a short-yardage power runner and late-game closer. It's almost like the jobs conversation Notre Dame used to have with Deland McCullough, where everybody in the room has a specific job. That could be Young's lane.
Or he could end up being the best running back on the roster. Both outcomes are realistic. If he's limited due to durability concerns, that wouldn't be shocking either. But the upside is tremendous, and the staff's excitement is real.
Walton arrived from Georgia as part of the 2026 recruiting class alongside fellow running back Javian Osborne out of Texas. Both were considered borderline top-100 players by multiple recruiting platforms.
Osborne was injured during the spring and wasn't able to participate in spring practice. The feedback on him has been consistent: he's incredibly talented, but he's a little behind right now. He needs reps, experience, and practice time. Williams said as much during his availability last week. That's completely fine for a true freshman.
Walton, on the other hand, was healthy during winter workouts, healthy during spring, healthy during summer workouts, and now he's in fall camp turning heads once again. Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider spoke about Walton during his availability and made clear that Walton is going to play this year. Seider also said Walton has an opportunity to play football for a very long time, which speaks to his upside both collegiately and professionally.
The 5-for-5 rule has changed the formula for how programs treat freshmen, and that could help Walton get on the field earlier than expected. There's no redshirt to preserve. He gets five years of eligibility regardless.
Can Walton be the third back in the room? Could he eventually ascend to a top-two role? Or is he more of a fourth option in 2026 with 2027 serving as the true breakout year? It's hard to say with certainty, but the impression he's making on the staff is undeniable.
The full picture of this running back room includes Williams, James, Young, Walton, and Osborne. That's a deep and talented group with a wide range of outcomes.
The volatility isn't about whether the room will be productive. It's about how the pecking order shakes out and whether the committee extends to three or four backs in the regular rotation. Fall camp will provide the data points that answer those questions, and the early signs suggest Young and Walton are going to play massive roles in shaping that answer.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame football's running back room has 2 wild cards who are crashing the party already in fall camp
© 2026 A to Z Sports.
