Last year’s week one heavyweight slugfest between Notre Dame and Texas A&M was devoid of all offensive life until offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock decided to feed his running backs. While Jeremiyah Love often receives much of the credit for his 91 yards and game-winning fourth-quarter score on the ground, it was actually Jadarian Price who first broke through the Aggie defense.
Price, now a redshirt junior hailing from Denison, Texas, took a Riley Leonard handoff 47 yards down the Kyle Field sideline, igniting the Irish faithful into a frenzy on that warm College Station evening last August. The score gave Notre Dame a third-quarter lead which they would never relinquish en route to a critical 23-13 win over the Aggies to kick off 2024.
Love and Price combined for 22 carries, 135 yards and two scores in last year’s opener, yet the pair was stymied to just 77 yards and no touchdowns on 16 carries in 2025’s opening week defeat to Miami. So what will the offensive game plan be on Saturday night, during another seismic opportunity against yet another talented defensive unit? Will Denbrock and head coach Marcus Freeman continue to initiate redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, or will they revert to what dominated Texas A&M and 12 other teams last season by releasing the horsemen?
Being a backup running back is not a flashy gig. You don’t always know how many touches you’ll get or how many series you’ll be featured in. And when the game is on the line, the ball is almost certainly going to the starter.
Although Price played in all 16 games last year, scurrying for 746 yards and seven touchdowns, it was Leonard and Love who garnered much of the praise for Notre Dame’s potent rushing attack. With both running backs returning this season, it was Love who received offseason Heisman Trophy hype. Even Penn State’s running back duo, which Notre Dame running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider left to come teach Love and Price, was widely viewed as the nation’s best backfield.
But Price has always been doubted. When he committed to Notre Dame in 2021 as the nation’s 20th-best running back prospect, Texas A&M never even bothered to recruit him. His small town of Denison sits just 250 miles due north of College Station, but the Aggies never called.
Even now, after fighting through injuries and rallying Notre Dame through countless barriers on the road to a National Championship Game, Price still isn’t atop the depth chart in his fourth year in South Bend. But he, like the rest of his position group, understands his role. “Every opportunity we get to run the ball we have to make it count. Whether it’s me or Jeremiyah, we don’t take those reps for granted. It doesn’t matter how many reps we get with the ball or without the ball, we’re going to make something happen,” he said.
Despite being handed just six carries in the loss to Miami, Price led the team with 45 rushing yards. Being from Texas, he recognizes that the Aggies present a whole new challenge defensively. “A&M has always had a good front seven, especially their defensive linemen and their edge rushers. They’re good every year and that’s a challenge for us, just as we had a challenge against Miami. We love to go against NFL-caliber guys because that makes us better all throughout the season,” Price added.
His 44 yards at Kyle Field a year ago came against a front that included first-round pick Shemar Stewart and second-round pick Shemar Turner. Texas A&M has replenished its talent, but their 4-2-5 base nickel defense remains the same. “It’s always nice to be able to play the same defense multiple times. You get used to the same defense even on different teams with different personnel,” Price added. He continued to say, “We’ll get different things thrown at us based on different types of talent, so we’re prepared for anything.”
Price also knows his plan will be the same as it always is, saying, “We just gotta be able to get the dirty, gritty yards, and attack.”
Even though he was born and raised in the Lone Star state, Price has found a home at Notre Dame. When he missed all of his freshman campaign after suffering a gruesome ruptured Achilles tendon, he trusted the Irish staff to not only recover, but strengthen his game.
He made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman in 2023, collecting over 300 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns. In the October upset over No. 10 USC, he returned a key kickoff 99 yards to put the game out of reach, earning him Special Teams Player of the Game.
Last season, he had his first multi-score game in the Shamrock Series domination of Army. He followed that up by running all over the Trojans again, scampering for 111 yards on just 12 carries, as the Irish cemented their spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Price could have transferred out during his low points, or he could have accepted some of the outbound offers that flew his way after last year’s breakout stretch. But through it all, ups and downs, the Texas kid decided to stay put, because he loves Notre Dame.
Price also recognizes how important Notre Dame’s fanbase will be for Saturday’s clash. The Irish received a heap of praise for how they handled the deafening noise of 103,000 Aggies last year, just to fall flat in front of their own fans a week later. That won’t happen again according to Price, who said, “Every time we have an opportunity to play in Notre Dame Stadium it means a lot, no matter who the opponent is.”
“The goal is to be 1-0 this week. That’s been our mindset, as it should be, every single week,” Price would go on to say. He isn’t dwelling on the concerns from South Beach, nor is he stuck reliving the glory of last year’s Texas-sized triumph. Just like he always has, Price is focused on the present. Taking things one play, one rush and one yard at a time. Notre Dame can’t afford to look past Texas A&M as they try to regain their 2024 swagger, just as Price couldn’t skip through all of life’s setbacks as he rose to Notre Dame stardom. “There’s no shortcuts to this. We just gotta trust the process.”
