SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brian Kelly made an unprecedented decision earlier this month, at least in the scope of his quarter-century as a head coach: He put a red non-contact jersey on a running back.
Redshirt junior C.J. Prosise wore a red No. 1 jersey — the kind generally exclusive to quarterbacks — during practice leading up to Oct. 17’s game against USC. The decision was made to give Prosise, a go-to playmaker who’s in his first year as a running back, a bit of a breather halfway through the season.
“We're trying to really do our defense as much justice as possible and helping them in tackling and not being able to tag off situations,” Kelly explained. “We have to get better at tackling and thudding the back. I didn't want (Prosise) to get in there and get hurt during practice, so I broke all my rules and I put a red jersey on a back for the first time in 25 years.”
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The combination of a strong offensive line and Prosise’s out-of-nowhere explosiveness — this is a guy that only had 46 touches in two years as a slot receiver — powered a Notre Dame offense that’s averaged 38.3 points through seven games. But for that success to continue, Kelly felt it necessary to closely monitor the practice reps of Prosise, who heads to Philadelphia on Saturday with 922 yards and 11 touchdowns on 129 rushing attempts.
Having the bye week after USC, too, helped Prosise recover from the grueling toll of being a running back.
“My body feels great now,” Prosise said. “That week off definitely did a lot for me, and now I feel back to 100 percent.”
Prosise’s ability to hit a hole and blast off at ludicrous speed has earned him plenty of national attention — his average of 7.15 yards per carry ranks sixth among running backs with 100 or more carries — but just as important is his knack for gaining yards after contact. The 6-foot, 220 pound Prosise has proven to be a difficult player to bring down, especially near the goal line.
“He's definitely running through tackles, especially arm tackles,” defensive tackle Sheldon Day said. “He uses his weight to his advantage and definitely makes you feel yourself or himself when you tackle him.”
With Notre Dame facing a number of tough, physical defenses — starting this weekend with a Temple group that ranks sixth in defensive S&P+ — Prosise is going to get battered quite a bit over the next five weeks. He and Will Fuller will be counted on as the dependable playmakers in the Irish offense, which makes Prosise's spate of rest even more important.
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Because, when fresh, Prosise has proved to be one of the best running backs at the college level.
"There's never really a bad play in that sense if he's able to bounce off a few tackles and get a couple extra yards, whether it be from negative one to three, or from five to 15," quarterback DeShone Kizer said. "... It's awesome to be out there watching a human highlight reel go through on a basic second down play and pop off with a 25-yard touchdown."