It is a rarity that you will find one of college football’s hidden gems playing for the University of Notre Dame. With the notoriety, history and national exposure that football program has you think to yourself there is no way an athlete can play football there and be considered under the radar. In the case of CJ Prosise that is exactly what we might have.
CJ Prosise entered the spring listed third on the depth chart at running back for Notre Dame. Prosise had never played running back in his career prior to this summer. Head coach Brian Kelly had observed Prosise making plays during practice at both wide receiver (which is what he played in his previous seasons) and running back and decided he needed to find a way to get the ball in his hands by any means necessary.
Prosise was recruited to Notre Dame as a defensive back out of Virginia. He was switched to wide receiver where he operated mainly from the slot position. He was one of the Irish’s top performers on special teams in 2014. Prior to this season his high for carries in a game was just three which netted 75 yards.
When Greg Bryant was suspended and Tarean Foster injured his knee in the season opener versus Texas, suddenly the defensive back turned wide receiver turned running back was now starting for a top ten National Championship contender. To his credit Prosise has taken the opportunity and ran with it (no pun intended) and has not looked back.
After Saturday’s game Prosise finds himself fourth in the country in rushing with 600 rushing yards averaging 8.1 yards per carry. Prosise 8.1 average trails only Leonard Fournette (8.6) and Nick Chubb (8.4) in running backs who have at least 70 attempts this season.
Prosise is a smooth, gliding runner who can run a defender over with his strength or just simply hit a hole and fly through it. Prosise has that second gear NFL teams are looking for in running backs. They want to see the runner decisively see an opening and hit it aggressively then turn on the jets and Prosise has shown he can do that. That speed was on display versus Georgia Tech when late in the third quarter Prosise hit the gap and ran by everyone for a 91-yard touchdown and against UMass where he showed terrific vision to cut back inside then explode down the sidelines for 57 yards. Prosise also displays terrific balance and body lean. You will see defenders bouncing off him and it is rare that the first man to hit Prosise brings him down.
A big reason for that is for a tall runner (6’0” ½) Prosise plays with good pad level and is effective in getting his shoulders down and delivering a blow or breaking arm tackles. He rarely will give the defense a big target to aim for. With his experience at wide receiver Prosise possesses terrific receiving skills and is also a threat in the passing game. The versatility in his game will be very appealing at the next level.
Another aspect of his game that I have observed and admired is the passion and leadership he has displayed. When starting quarterback Malik Zaire went down with an injury you saw Prosise trying to fire up a bunch of dejected teammates who were upset over the injury and what it might mean to their National Championship chances. Prosise was also one of the first teammates to help prop up and rally around the new quarterback DeShone Kizer.
As you might expect there are still going to be growing pains for Prosise to go through as he gets settled into the running back position. He is still learning the nuances of playing the position, one of them being pass protection. Pass blocking is an area a lot of college runners struggle with and most have been playing the position for their entire careers. For Prosise, even though he was on offense as a receiver, at running back you have to be in sync with the protection that has been called for that particular play, while also being able to diagnose a defensive front and determine where they might be trying to bring pressure from.
With a couple of Top 20 teams coming up within the next three weeks in Clemson and USC, respectively, it will be a good test to see Prosise go up against tougher competition. So far his play has helped Notre Dame maintain its status in the Top 10 as he has carried the Irish offense.
With whispers of Prosise being a Heisman trophy candidate gaining momentum what will be fascinating to see is how far up draft boards Prosise climbs. As previously mentioned, his game appears tailor-made for the NFL. With size, speed and pass catching ability, Prosise is a three-down running back. Prosise has gone from being third on the depth chart at running back to a player NFL scouts are paying a much closer attention
