Notre Dame lost two first round running backs to the NFL in April, and on Saturday a freshman stepped in and ran for 120 yards in the rain.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are gone. Most programs would spend a full season looking for an answer after losing that much out of one backfield. Not Notre Dame.
In Chapel Hill, Jonaz Walton carried it 23 times for a team-high 120 yards. The Irish ran for a season-high 241, and 122 of those came in the third quarter alone.
Carr finished with 234 yards and 4 touchdown passes. The Irish are 5-0, No. 3 in the country, and have won 15 straight. Freeman said Monday that Walton has “a different type of gear.” Stanford comes to South Bend on Saturday.
Here is where I think this applies well beyond football.
Notre Dame didn’t go find Walton the week Love and Price left. They recruited him, developed him, and had him ready before they needed him.
Most firms in our channel can name their top 2 consultants without thinking. The harder question is who steps in behind them, because after 25 years of doing this, I can tell you the best people eventually leave, whether it’s for a promotion, a competitor, or their own version of the NFL draft.
Who is the Jonaz Walton on your team, and do they know you see them?
Sources:
Carr, ground game help No. 3 Notre Dame push past North Carolina 37-26 for 15th straight win, AP via ABC News: https://lnkd.in/gCycPNfw
Irish Reign In The Rain, Defeat North Carolina 37-26, Fighting Irish Athletics: https://lnkd.in/gfY3-FcC
Marcus Freeman press conference live updates, October 5, 2026, On3: https://lnkd.in/g_3UFdZD
#NotreDame #FightingIrish #CollegeFootball #SuccessionPlanning #Retention #Dynamicsfocus #MicrosoftDynamics #NetSuite #NetSuiterecruiting #MicrosoftDynamicsrecruit
