A utility player with no true position manages to earn the starting spot at running back and becomes the offensive leader of his team – sound a little too much like a Hollywood script? Notre Dame’s C.J. Prosise is blurring the lines between fiction and reality, setting the nation on fire while keeping the playoff hopes for an injury-plagued Fighting Irish team alive. It took unusual circumstances in his final collegiate season, but Prosise is showing the entire nation what he can do when he is put in a position on the field that suits him the best – both in the NCAA as well as the NFL.
By: Cory Burrell
Prosise’s collegiate career did not start out as a running back, or even on offense at all. In high school, Prosise played defensive back, ranking among the top 25 safeties in the nation. When he enrolled at Notre Dame however, head coach Brian Kelly had different plans for an athlete of Prosise’s caliber.
“I saw this athlete and I said: ‘I don’t know where he’s going to play, but we’ve got to take him. We just have to find a place for him to play,’ ” Kelly said in a recent interview to the Chicago Tribune.
Prosise did not see any game action his freshman year, although his expected position remained safety at the time. The following season, Prosise found a role as a receiver as well as on special teams. He played in all 13 games and caught seven passes for 72 yards. Prosise built on these roles as a junior, catching 29 passes for 516 yards and two touchdowns while averaging a massive 17.8 yards per catch. He was also made a valuable impact on specials teams
Prosise would once again find himself in a brand-new position for his final collegiate season: running back.
“When I first started playing football, I wanted to be a running back,” Prosise said. “But as I got older, people saw me as a receiver. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Initially the third-string back, Prosise promotion came quickly. Greg Bryant, the expected backup to starting running back Tarean Folston, was academically suspended for the 2015 season, giving Prosise the second-string position on the depth chart.
“When I first started playing football, I wanted to be a running back,” Prosise said. “But as I got older, people saw me as a receiver. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Prosise’s second-string status would not even last an entire quarter; Folston tore his ACL early in Notre Dame’s opening-day win against Texas. Prosise led the Fighting Irish with 20 carries and 98 rushing yards against the Longhorns, the most touches and offensive yards Prosise ever totaled on a single game.
Even with Folston out for the season, expectations for Prosise were still fairly tame. Talented freshman Josh Adams, who carried fives time for 49 yards and two touchdowns against Texas, was expected to get a fair share of carries himself. Notre Dame’s depleted running game only needed to compliment junior quarterback and Heisman candidate Malik Zaire.
Notre Dame saw its game plans once again dashed because of injuries before the end of their next game against Virginia. Near the end of the third quarter, Zaire fractured his ankle, prematurely ending his season and leaving inexperienced freshman Deshone Kizer to helm the Fighting Irish. In a much closer game than was anticipated, Prosise came through big. While Kizer’s deep touchdown throw to seal the game stole headlines, Prosise was the most consistent threat for Notre Dame. In his first game as the starting running back, Prosise rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on a scorching-hot 9.1 yards per carry and carried his team to 34-27 victory.
Since the Virginia game, Prosise has not looked back. In his three games as a starter, Prosise has broken 100 yards and scored at least two touchdowns in every game, all while maintain a YPC average above 9 (for the season, he averages 8.1 yards a carry, good for ninth-best in the nation). His 631 yard from the line of scrimmage in just four games are 35 yards shy of tying his total from his previous two seasons combined.
Prosise’s teammates have been both excited and shocked by Prosise instant transformation to one of the best backs in the nation, including Greer Martini, Prosise’s teammate since high school.
“He’s always had a natural knack for scoring a touchdown when you needed it,” Martini said. “But I never saw him as a running back.”
Even Prosise is shocked at the success he’s had so far.
“I’m a little surprised I’m doing it at running back,” Prosise said. “I always knew I could be a great player here and make big plays for us. But never did I think I’d be playing running back and be one of the top rushers.”
Prosise’s numbers, status as the top weapon on a Notre Dame team that desperately needs star performances to make up for injuries, and the Fighting Irish’s chance of making playoffs, Prosise has everything set up to make one of the most incredible runs at a Heisman in the history of the award. But there are new discussions about Prosise that exist outside the NCAA – discussions about Prosise’s stock as a potential NFL draft pick.
Purely based on statistics, Prosise goes toe-to-toe with heralded running back prospects such as Georgia’s Nick Chubb, LSU’s Leonard Fournette, and FSU’s Dalvin Cook. Prosise does not disappoint on physical traits or game tape either. He has shown great vision at seeing holes and has been equally effective gracefully running through opening created by his line or thundering through with his power six-foot, 220-pound frame. While he has not had much use as a receiver this year, his experience as a slot receiver in previous seasons and soft hands gives him the potential to be the kind of pass-catching back NFL teams love to pick.
The biggest red flag against Prosise is his lack of experience at running back. Prosise still appears raw in some running back duties, including pass protection. While it is not unheard of for drafted player to convert to different positions in the pros, it is more uncommon for a player to bounce around positions before having a tremendous season to the extent Prosise is having. Nevertheless, Prosise has gone from not even an afterthought among NFL executives to one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire class of draft-eligible players for the 2016 draft.
Prosise has an exceptionally high level of play to maintain as he pursues playoffs for Notre Dame, a Heisman for himself, and perhaps even a high pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Considering Prosise the buried on the depth chart, he likely much prefers the pressure of his situation today than the anonymity he begin with at the start of the season. Prosise bounced around nearly every position on the field before getting his chance at running back, but he is leaving little doubt it is the place he can have the most impact in college as well as where he has the best chance at a fruitful career in the NFL.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
