Listed measurements: 5-foot-10 ⅜, 203 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Price has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: If fully healthy, Price could be Notre Dame’s No. 2 running back, but recovering from Achilles injuries often limits a player’s explosiveness for a bit longer than a year. If Price is at all held back by his summer of 2022 setback, then he could fall to third or fourth on the Irish depth chart behind starter Audric Estimé.
Recruiting: Perhaps Price’s breakout spring back in 2022 should have been more expected, given he was the No. 5 running back in the class, per rivals.com. Price chose Notre Dame over his homestate power Texas as well as Ohio State and Stanford, in part because the Irish had been to a couple recent Playoffs, whereas two of those programs have yet to make the modern postseason.
CAREER TO DATE
Price shined in the 2022 Blue-Gold Game, suddenly looking like a possible freshman star. He had put on wanted weight throughout that first semester, moving to 195 pounds from 190 and looking more durable in the process. He was on track to reach 200 pounds by the season, a number running backs coach Deland McCullough wanted him at, en route to a stronger 205-210 in the long run. (Note Price’s listed weight now is 203 pounds.)
Turning on the JETS! 🚀
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 23, 2022
Jadarian Price gets the gold team on the board! @NDFootball | #GoIrish
📺 @PeacockTV pic.twitter.com/3ZNZuUWtvJ
But then Price ruptured his Achilles tendon last June, about 13 months ago now.
RELATED READING: Steve Angeli’s, Jadarian Price’s spring star turns forecast differing Notre Dame futures
Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price staying patient while preparing for return
QUOTES
WATCH: #NDFootball RB Jadarian Price @Jadarian15 on drawing “inspiration” from similar comeback stories, including that of Cam Akers @thereal_cam3 , as Price works back from torn Achilles suffered last June. #NotreDame @RamsNFL pic.twitter.com/m35OaEt3ls
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) April 6, 2023
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Achilles injuries are among the worst imaginable for athletes dependent on explosive moves, as a running back is. Price’s return may reach into the 2023 summer, but presuming no setbacks, he should at least be healthy enough to practice by that preseason.
“Only then will it be clear if his Blue-Gold Game star turn will be a one-off or if this injury is just a bump in his road.”
2023 OUTLOOK
As Irish head coach Marcus Freeman went through the June gauntlet of beat-writer interviews, he did not hesitate in his enthusiasm about Price’s availability this year.
“One hundred percent,” Freeman said to Irish Illustrated. “That’s the conversation I had with Deland.
“We’re talking about a guy that was pushing to be a starter last year.”
That starting thought is revisionist history, with three backs firmly ahead of Price last summer, but he did star in the 2022 spring finale. Price had 17 total touches for 116 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown catch showcased speed that may not have been previously seen from Price. Safety Ramon Henderson appeared to have the angle on Price, but that burst of speed rendered that advantage moot.
The question now is how much of that burst remains after the Achilles injury. Restoring explosiveness after a ruptured Achilles is the lingering worry, and Price’s fate will not be properly known until he gets cut loose in a full-contact moment. The likelihood is that comes in a closed scrimmage, so the public understanding of his future will not come until he goes around the edge on a Saturday.
But with Estimé handling the vast majority of work and sophomore Gi’Bran Payne, Penn State graduate transfer DeVyn Ford and incoming freshman Jeremiyah Love also competing for carries, Price will have to earn his chance.
That may be the quickest indicator: If Price plays ahead of Payne or Love, in particular, then the Notre Dame coaching staff has presumably seen enough of his explosiveness in practice to feel he is the best gameday option behind Estimé.
Projecting that, though, would be foolish. Price is an uncertainty for now.
Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price (far right) leading self-conditioning at @C4SportOklahoma. Marcus Freeman said last month Price was ready to roll for Notre Dame's summer workouts. @seancooper_C4 pic.twitter.com/ukECAEnTW7
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) July 5, 2023
DOWN THE ROAD
It may take a bit of time for Price to be full-go. Yes, this is repeated tempering of expectations. That is the prudent approach coming off an Achilles injury.
He has time, though. Estimé should head to the NFL after this season, and then Notre Dame likely will head into 2024 with a few backs contributing. Love does not project to be an every-down back. Payne is even more unproven than Price. Emerging with and/or ahead of them would put Price into a primary role in 2024.
WHY NO. 24 NOW?
This was a content calendar mistake. Price changed his number this spring, but the Irish roster did not reflect it. The summer roster did, but this scribe did not look for it and thus missed it while drafting a loose content calendar.
Price wore No. 20 last season. Well, he never dressed due to the Achilles injury, but he wore No. 20 in the spring of 2022.
“I wanted 24 last season,” Price said this spring. “[Estimé] had 24 his freshman season, I knew he was going to 7 and my goal was to switch to 24 before the summer. When I got hurt in the summer, I was like, ‘I might as well keep 20,’ and that’s what everyone knew me by in the spring game. So I’ll keep that until next season when I play and change to 24.
“24 is a big number to me. I’ve worn it all of high school and middle school. It’s a number I love and I wear it on my necklace.”
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth