Notre Dame RB Coach: Freshman Jonaz Walton Will Play This Season

Notre Dame running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider had high praise for true freshman Jonaz Walton on Friday stating very clearly that he will play this season. Asked what he expects from the newcomers in his room, Seider went to Walton first and didn’t leave room for a whole lot of interpretation.

“Well, to me there are no young guys no more,” Seider said. “If they can help Notre Dame this year win, we’re going to play him.”

Then he applied it directly.

“Jonaz Walton’s a great example of that. He put himself in the thick of this,” Seider said. “He’s going to play. I can say it right now.”

Walton has forced his way into the mix

The room that sent two backs to the first round of this year’s NFL Draft is now Aneyas Williams’ to lead, with Nolan James Jr., Kedren Young (whose career line is 116 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries), and two freshmen sorting out everything behind him. Walton is the first of that group Seider has publicly placed on the field.

Walton arrived from Central High School in Carrollton, Georgia, as a four-star prospect, the No. 167 player nationally, the No. 11 running back, and the No. 15 prospect in Georgia. His high school production was absurd by any standard: 5,965 rushing yards and 70 touchdowns on 695 carries, an average of 8.6 per attempt, with a senior season of 1,251 yards and 14 scores on just 128 carries. He also runs a 10.6 100 meters.

Seider’s evaluation tracks the same traits.

“His football IQ and smarts – from the classroom to the football field – as good as I ever been around,” Seider said. “And his pad level and his speed. He can take it a distance like the two guys that we lost last year,” he added referencing , Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price

“From what that kid done from spring to summer to what he’s doing in fall, he’s a gifted kid,” Seider said. “I think he’s got a chance to play this game for a long time.”

What keeps a back on the field

Williams, who has been in the room since 2024 and has 443 career rushing yards on 58 career carries, worked with Walton through the offseason.

“I actually worked out with him all this summer, and the dude’s impressive, so I’m excited for him, too,” Williams said, calling Walton explosive and powerful.

Playing and holding reps are separate questions in Seider’s room. On what it takes for a back to stay on the field, Seider began with the quarterback.

“How can we protect CJ? That to me, that’s where it started with you guys,” Seider said. “But to be a good running back, you have to be able to play all three downs.”

Blocking sits at the top of that list, ahead of catching the ball and moving a pile in short yardage. What Seider tests earliest, though, is how much of the install a freshman can carry from one day to the next.

“So those are things I’m looking for early, like retention. How much can you retain? How much can you see things before they happen?” he said. “That’s what it is because what you don’t want to do is a deer in the headlights.”

Where Osborne stands and what comes next

The pecking order among the newcomers is set by the same math. Javian Osborne missed spring, and both Seider and Williams pointed to reps as the gap.

“Javian, he’s still learning, like he’s behind,” Seider said. “He missed spring, so he’s still catching up. So jury’s out, it’s too early.”

Williams said the same thing when asked about Osborne: “With him missing a little bit of spring, he’s a little behind on reps, but that’s really just it. He just needs a little bit more reps.”

Williams sits atop the depth chart after finishing last season with 224 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries, including 83 yards and two scores at Stanford. The rest of camp is where Walton has to prove he belongs on third down, starting with the protection calls Seider put ahead of everything else and extending to whether he can still run the install correctly on Saturday after getting it on Wednesday. Clear that bar, and the carries behind Williams could be fully up for grabs.