Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman on 3-way QB competition
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman says all three starting quarterback candidates will get a chance to work with first-team offense this spring.
- Jadarian Price, a running back for Notre Dame, received numerous offers to transfer to other schools.
- Despite the competition in the running back room, Price decided to stay at Notre Dame.
- Price believes staying at Notre Dame is the best decision for his future and his development as a player.
- Price is embracing the challenges and opportunities that come with being a senior leader on a competitive team.
SOUTH BEND — Jadarian Price, coming off a breakout season of breakaway runs for Notre Dame football, had plenty of chances to finish his college career elsewhere.
The third-leading rusher for the Irish last fall, Price rejected overtures to enter the transfer portal when the five-day window opened after the national championship game in January.
“Every other day my agents (A&P Sports Agency) would hit me up saying, ‘Here’s a new offer; here’s a new coach that’s interested in you,’ “ Price said. “And I just had to tell them I appreciate it but I’m sticking to my word.”
Now a fourth-year senior with two remaining years of eligibility, Price ranks second in the pecking order for carries behind Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiyah Love. Gi’Bran Payne is back from ACL surgery, and underclassmen Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young give the Irish one of the deepest backfield crews in the country.
Still, Price remains in the fold.
“It is hard sometimes, but you can’t make everyone happy all the time,” he said. “You have to know what’s best for your future. No matter what everyone else is saying that it would probably be best if I left or whatever, I thought it would be best if I stayed.”
A product of Denison, Texas, Price missed the 2022 season with a torn Achilles, but he has averaged 6.1 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns on the ground while rushing for 1,018 in 29 games the past two seasons.
He remains on track to graduate this year with a degree in sociology. He’s already looking forward to a light courseload in the fall.
“The fall is going to be a breeze, just finishing my degree with one or two classes,” he said. “Straight football. It’s going to be like I’m in the league. I’m excited.”
How Jadarian Price met up with jeweler Johnny Dang
After slipping below 200 pounds during the grind of the College Football Playoff run, Price is back up to 207 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame.
“With a 16-game season, it’s hard to maintain your weight,” he said. “When we had those three weeks off, all you do is eat, eat, eat.”
With former position coach Deland McCullough returning to the NFL this offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders, Price is gaining the trust of a new mentor, former Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.
“I really increased my production (last) season with the opportunities I was given,” Price said. “I’m a senior now, so there’s a lot of expectations that come with that. It’s not just knowing the call but understanding the picture and the defense. … The mental part of the game. Being a smarter player.”
Price’s short offseason also included a trip down to Houston to meet with celebrity jeweler Johnny Dang. Part of a select group of college football players to secure an NIL deal with Dang’s “Diamond Boyz,” Price was out front in the TMZ reporting of the visit.
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“For two weeks everyone (at Notre Dame) was calling me ‘Mr. TMZ,’ so that was pretty cool,” Price said. “It was nice to be one of the five or six players in the country to be able to do something like that. All thanks to my agency. They had a connection going back years with Johnny Dang’s team.”
Teammates and coaches have joked with Price about cutting them into the Dang deal.
“Maybe in the future,” Price said. “I’ll work on it. The game of college football is expanding. It’s getting bigger every year, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
How Jadarian Price resists the urge to break away
Even with the spring transfer portal window opening for another 10 days next month, Price has no plans to bolt for the greener pastures that beckoned early in 2025.
“It was an overwhelming process; I’m not going to lie,” he said. “Just because of what we displayed every Saturday, running game-wise, I could tell the country saw it. Everyone noticed. But also how we succeeded, how our running game helped us succeed as a team as well, going to the national championship.”
When Love went down with a knee injury against USC in late November, Price stepped up with the second 100-yard rushing game of his career. The other came in the Sun Bowl over Oregon State in 2023.
His 2024 output included touchdown runs of 70 yards (at Purdue), 65 yards (Florida State), 47 yards (at Texas A&M) and 36 yards (at USC).
It’s only natural to wonder what Price would do with more chances.
“As soon as the national championship was over, there were so many calls, so many people,” he said. “The reason I say it’s overwhelming is just because of the NIL side of it, but I knew I had a plan coming here. I came here for a reason as a freshman early enrollee, and I want to stay true to that.”
His personal vision remains intact.
“I believe that whether there’s changes around me, change is inevitable,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. I know who I am as a person and I know what I have to bring to this university and ultimately myself when I leave here, hopefully next year.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
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