Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame FR RBs in line for larger roles following injury

Published Sep. 10, 2015 7:27 p.m. ET

foxsports

Fans of Notre Dame football hope the Fighting Irish announced themselves as true contenders for a national championship this season with their 38-3 blowout of Texas last week, but the win did not come without cost.

Running back Tarean Folston went down with a season-ending knee injury, elevating former wide receiver C.J. Prosise to No. 1 on the depth chart.

Behind him are a pair of freshmen coach Brian Kelly had good things to say about this week as the team prepared to for a trip to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers: Josh Adams and Dexter Williams.

Adams looked ready to go in his college debut against the Longhorns, rushing for 49 yards on five carries and scoring two touchdowns while Williams added 24 yards on seven carries.

Kelly said the readiness Adams showed was evident when the Fighting Irish were recruiting him as a four-star prospect out of the Philadelphia area last year.

"We loved his makeup, and his makeup was extremely competitive," Kelly told reporters earlier this week. "Really loved the way he competed. Just had no fear. And we saw that on Saturday when he was called, there was no hesitation when he went into the game. It was let's go. It wasn't -- there's sometimes when a freshman's called, he kind of looks like, 'Me?' He was anxious to get in there and expecting to succeed."