Price made the most of redshirt season with Irish
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football running back Jadarian Price found a constructive use for web surfing during his lengthy rehab from a torn Achilles that wiped out his freshman season.
“I haven’t really reached out to anyone,” Price said this offseason, “but I’ve searched up tons of YouTube videos just looking for inspiration: Who’s gone through what I went through and how long did it take and what can I do to get better? Just focusing on what I can control.”
Price, a revelation in the 2022 BlueGold Game as an early enrollee, required surgery after a late June 2022 injury during offseason conditioning. He didn’t let that keep him from packing on an extra 10 pounds of lean muscle while increasing his understanding of the Irish playbook.
The Denison, Texas product drew strength from the comeback story of Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers, who made it back in six months from his torn Achilles to help the Rams win the Super Bowl in February 2022.
Akers, a second-round pick out of Florida State in 2020, went on to exceed his rookie rushing totals last season in both yards (786) and touchdowns (7).
“Guys like Cam Akers — I was a huge fan back in middle school and early high school,” Price said. “Just watching him and his game in college and his journey to the league and his setbacks and how he’s moved on from that (was inspiring).”
Set to move into the primary backup role to Audric Estime after Logan Diggs transferred back home to LSU, Price is confident he’ll be able to scrape off whatever rust accumulated during his long rehab.
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“I’ve pretty much already experienced the worst, I guess,” Price said. “With the rehab I’ve done over the year, I don’t think I’ll lose a step by fall camp. Just adding muscle mass and weight and being just as explosive, I think that adds a lot to my game.”
The biggest thing Price has developed in this process: “Resilience.”
“Now that I’m on the back end of it, I realize that I’ve come a long way,” he said. “But I’ve worked really hard for this and I’m ready for that first play of fall camp and just being able to get after it.”
Follow Notre Dame football writer Mike Berardino on social media @MikeBerardino.