Position Analysis: Running Backs
Brian.D.Burke - UHND Writer

Entering the 1999 season the Notre Dame football team finds its offensive backfield in familiar territory.  After a two year period where Autry Denson was virtually the entire running game, the Irish return to a running back by committee look that had existed through all of Lou Holtz's tenure.  Both the fullback and tailback position are crowded spaces on the depth chart, and the competition for playing time will be stiff; something that has not been the case in recent seasons.  However, while the backfield might be heavy on numbers and that ever popular word "potential", it comes also with some uncertainty as new faces try to take over for established players. If the season were to begin today Joey Goodspeed would start at fullback.  He is the only fullback on the roster that has a significant number of carries, and has by far the most experience in the backfield of any player.  Goodspeed had one excellent game last year against Arizona St. where he ran for 109 yards on 4 carries.  Other than that, he and the rest of the fullbacks were non-existent, they simply did not touch the ball enough.  As an individual player, Goodspeed is not as physically imposing as past Notre Dame fullbacks such as Jerome Bettis, Rodney Culver, or Ray Zellars.  Still, he has demonstrated some shiftiness even if he does not have excellent speed.  Goodspeed's problem has been not coming up with big plays at important situations in the game, particularly when it comes to the passing game.  For example Jim Sanson's "heroic" 47 yard field goal last year to beat Army came only after Goodspeed dropped a fairly wide open flair pass on 3rd and 4.  Just the same, Notre Dame is short on running backs that have been to battle already, and this makes Joey Goodspeed very valuable, regardless of the players around him.

The #2 fullback spot on the depth chart is a bit of a surprise heading into August training camp.  Two freshmen fullbacks arrived on campus last summer, USA Today 1st Team All-American Mike McNair, and the comparatively less heralded Tom Lopienski.  McNair, who ran out of a lone back set in high school, was such a sought after recruit because he possessed ridiculously amazing speed for his size; so much the case that the coaches gave him a look at tailback before ultimately moving him to fullback.  Meanwhile Tom Lopienski did not move to linebacker as was a possibility, and instead got bigger and impressed coaches with his viscous blocking at fullback.  At 259 pounds Lopienski certainly will be given the opportunity to bash heads with some linebackers.  As for Mike McNair, it really is not fair to say he is beneath Lopienski at fullback because he is playing catch up learning the offense from a position where he did not begin.  McNair logged playing time last year as a blocking back in goal line situations, as well as special teams duty and is without a doubt in the mix to contribute.  He gained weight and at 242 pounds may have lost a bit of his initial speed, but still is a different type of player from Lopienski and probably a better candidate to emerge as a good ball carrier.  McNair was one of the few bright spots for the Gold team in the Blue-Gold game, catching a 12-yard pass for the Gold's only touchdown.  True, it was only a scrimmage, but it's as good as anything to evaluate these two sophomores since neither has seen action at fullback anywhere else yet. Pushed back farther down the fullback list is junior Jason Murray.  Murray like Lopienski made a name for himself by hitting very hard, particularly in one on one confrontations with another hard hitter, linebacker Ronnie Nicks.  Unfortunately like Nicks, Murray's painful hits hurt himself as much as the other guy, and a shoulder injury kept him away from action for some of last year.  As the two freshmen showed promise, Murray dropped down to fourth at fullback.  Injury or not, he was probably the least effective ball carrier and did not have much speed at all, almost just a lineman in the backfield.  Nevertheless, having another player to clear the way always helps if Murray could stay healthy, but he has a lot of catching up to do now that three other players are looking at substantial playing time.

The tailback spot has just as many players vying to play.  As competitive as the starting fullback spot may turn out to be, the #1 tailback slot is a dead heat.  Tony Driver moves back to his more natural position at tailback where he earned consensus All-American honors out of high school.  Sophomore Tony Fisher, Mr. Football in Ohio in 1997 and right there with Driver, is basically a co-starter.  While these two might have more straight-ahead speed than Autry Denson, neither is much of a homerun threat.  Driver does not possess the burst the Irish had with Randy Kinder and Robert Farmer, nor as many moves as Denson, but has some speed and will probably get his yards breaking tackles.  The same goes for Fisher who is a little bigger (at 223 pounds one of the heavier Irish tailbacks in a while) and shows the same north south running style.  Driver and Fisher seem like two of the same back; they are similar in size and put up almost identical numbers in the Blue-Gold game.  Both also demonstrated a hard charging style, taking would-be tacklers head on instead of trying to juke them.  They are more likely to wear down a defense in the fourth quarter than run away from them in the first.

Behind Driver and Fisher is the fastest tailback, junior Darcy Levy.  Levy struggled through injuries last season and never really solidified himself as Autry Denson's back up.  He also had been playing receiver and with Driver's move to defense and the dismissal of Cooper Rego was in the middle of a transition to the backfield.  The fact that Levy can call himself the fastest back with a 4.5 forty is a testament to the overall lack of speed at tailback, but his speed certainly could come in handy, especially if he becomes a threat to catch the ball.  He was considered one of the top talents when he arrived as a freshman, but has done little so far.  Hopefully he is just one of these guys that does not develop until his junior year because the offense will need him to contribute.

A pleasant surprise this spring was sophomore Terrance Howard who moved from safety to what he also considered his more natural tailback position.  Howard is smaller and in more of the Autry Denson scat-back mold.  Again, he is not a burner, but does have good cutting ability and footwork.  Once he works more on offense Howard might break into this crowded backfield and perhaps pick up two or three carries per game.  He could be important especially because he offers a different look.

Because four players each are contending for playing time at both fullback and tailback, it will be extremely difficult for an incoming freshman to even break the three- deep this fall.  Big things will eventually be expected of Julius Jones at tailback, but right now depth chart is probably too full.  Although his brother has seen quick success at Virginia, Jones may also need time to adjust to the move from playing (the smallest) Class A ball to making trips to Ann Arbor and Knoxville, etc.  With the imminent departure of A'Jani Sanders and Deke Cooper after this season, Chris Yura is one of the top candidates to move from tailback to possibly strong safety.  As for fullback/linebacker Courtney Watson, he is considered more of a project and it is up in the air where the coaching staff puts him.

Some thoughts on the running backs and running game.If Kevin Rogers wants to make the option a significant part of the offense (as he did at Syracuse), he likely will give the ball to the fullbacks more than Jim Colleto did last year.  The option is supposed to be a triple threat (FB, QB, and TB), and running the fullback keeps linebackers from flying too far wide.  Also, what we know absolutely nothing about, with the tailbacks in particular, is how well they protect the football.  When Holtz ran a running back by committee the one thing that would make him stick with one player was if another guy kept fumbling.  Perhaps that will be what sets one of the top two backs apart from the other one.  Finally, I'm struck by the way that Notre Dame's running backs of late are being put into the backfield and forced to play catch up.  McNair has moved from tailback, Driver and Howard from safety, Levy from flanker, and Goodspeed has even spent some time at linebacker during his time at ND.  Plus, they have run David Givens out of the wingback spot on misdirection plays.  Will he too figure into the running game?

On the ground the offense can be very good if the line comes together and the backs protect the ball.  Fullback and tailback both could afford to have one player go down and have someone else step up.  Having a quarterback that runs well also is a big plus.  The talent and depth is certainly there, it only remains to be seen how they perform when the score counts.

Of course I might be wrong, I have been before.  If you'd like to agree/disagree with me please feel free to send me an email: Brian.D.Burke.68@nd.edu