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Notre Dame rumors: Matter of time until Greg Bryant is starting RB for Irish?

By Patrick Schmidt

Apr 12, 2014; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Greg Bryant (1) smiles during warmups before the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2014; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Greg Bryant (1) smiles during warmups before the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Greg Bryant came to Notre Dame as a highly regarded four-star recruit and the No. 6 running back prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings who was beaming with confidence when he arrived in South Bend.

However, the success he envisioned as a confident freshmen never materialized as he was lmited to three carries for 14 yards in a humbling season for the Florida native.

“At first I was like, ‘What did I get myself into?’ I felt like I was going to come here, play right away and jump in the starting lineup,” Bryant tells Chris Hine of The Chicago Tribune. “But it didn’t happen that way and they humbled me. Coach [Brian] Kelly, everybody humbled me because I was just athletic but I didn’t know the mental part of the game.”

After rumors of a potential transfer were refuted, Bryant has his sights set on earing carries in the Irish backfield with Tarean Folston the starter and Bryant competing with Cam McDaniel to be the top backup, for now.

According to Fox Sports’ Stewart Mandel, he thinks it’s only a matter of time until Bryant becomes “the guy.”

“Kelly has generally gone running back by committee over the years and that appears to be the plan again with Folston, Bryant and Cam McDaniel. However, it seems only a matter of time before Bryant, becomes the guy. The 5-10, 205-pound slasher boasts an unmistakable burst the others don’t, and that’s frankly what Notre Dame’s been missing at that position for years.”

Whether he ends up starting or not, Kelly has to give Bryant a significant amount of work as a sophomore this year to give the offense some much-needed speed and explosive plays from the running back position.