Notre Dame running back looks for more time

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, IND.

Greg Bryant doesn’t like being Notre Dame’s No. 3 tailback.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound sophomore from Delray Beach, Fla., isn’t disgruntled; he’s just doing his best to make it hard for Fighting Irish coaches to keep him behind senior captain Cam McDaniel and sophomore Tarean Folston on the depth chart.

“I don’t want to be just a third-string running back ever,” Bryant said. “I’m going to just keep making plays and see what the coaches do from there. If you make plays, they have no choice but to move you up.”

Bryant has been making plays. He’s fourth on the team in carries behind Folston, McDaniel and quarterback Everett Golson. Yet Bryant leads the eighth-ranked Irish (3-0) in rushing with 119 yards, averaging 5.4 yards a carry heading into their game against Syracuse (2-1) on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He also had his first two catches for 17 yards each against Purdue.

Coach Brian Kelly said Bryant still has work to do to move up the depth chart.

“He’s only played three college games and there are a lot of things that go on with being the guy that takes reps away from two very experienced players,” Kelly said.

Bryant arrived on campus last season as a five-star recruit and expected to take over the starter’s job immediately, especially with the top two runners from the previous season gone. But he struggled with the mental aspects of the game and had just three carries through the first three games before tearing the meniscus in his right knee and missing the rest of the season.