SOUTH BEND — Jeremiyah Love had to wait his turn. Same for Jadarian Price, Audric Estime and Kyren Williams, dating back to 2019.
For Jonaz Walton, freshman running back for Notre Dame football, the learning curve might be considerably shorter.
“Jonaz is competing to play; I’m going to put that out there,” Irish running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said Friday, Aug. 7 after the second practice of fall camp. “With this new rule, this ‘Five for Five,’ I don’t even talk about redshirt in any way. This kid is too talented to even be thinking about that.”
With rare exception, college athletes will now have five academic years in which to play five seasons in their chosen sport. The concept of waiting your turn and backloading the production of promising newcomers, regardless of position, has gone away.
The free-for-all aspect on rosters everywhere is no more intense than in Seider’s position room.
That’s why, even after losing Love and Price to the NFL as a historic first-round combination, Notre Dame is well positioned to keep pounding the rock with Aneyas Williams, Nolan James Jr., a healthy Kedren Young and freshmen Javian Osborne and Walton.
At 5-foot-9 and 214 pounds, Walton has earned his teammates’ respect already this offseason.
“Jonaz with the running backs has really come a long way,” middle linebacker Drayk Bowen said. “I’m excited to see him in fall camp, see what he can do. He had an incredible summer in the weight room, so we’re super excited about that.”
While Osborne is still catching up after undergoing left wrist surgery in the spring, Walton keeps gaining on the competition.
“He’s going to play this year,” Seider said of the four-star signee from Carrollton, Ga. “I don’t know when. It could be Game 1. It could be Game 4. This kid’s really talented.”
Why teammates call Jonaz Walton ‘The Nerd’
With Notre Dame expected to be heavily favored throughout the first half of its regular-season schedule, you don’t need a computer engineering degree to deduce there will be plenty of low-pressure opportunities to shine along the way.
Speaking of which, Walton has designs on a post-football future in software engineering. Back in the spring, the midyear enrollee mused he could see himself doing some “coding or building circuits” down the road.
His father, Will, teaches middle-school science, while his mother, Sandy, teaches kindergarten.
“He’s super smart,” Seider said of Walton. “They call him ‘The Nerd’ in the room. He’s the guy that’s going to go to the library instead of hanging out with the guys, but it’s important to him.”
A standout kickoff returner in high school as well, Walton could use that avenue to get rolling. Just don’t rule out the notion that the newcomer could become highly important in the Irish backfield hierarchy, especially if this season ends in Las Vegas in late January as many project.
“I don’t want to put pressure on him,” Seider said. “I want to continue to bring him along. But he can handle it. I’m telling you, he’s got a chance to play this game for a long time.”
Before helping Love and Price vault into the NFL with strong 2025 seasons, Seider guided the Penn State duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who went in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, to the Tennessee Titans and the Washington Commanders last spring.
“I think I’ve got a good view of what they look like,” Seider said. “(Walton) is going to play this game beyond Notre Dame if he can stay healthy. He’s got the speed. He’s got the power. He can go the distance. He’s got it all. His time is now.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Could Jonaz Walton be the next great Notre Dame football running back?
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
