Out of the 1,088,158 high school students who play football each year, CB South alumni and Notre Dame running back, Josh Adams, was ranked in the top 200 football players for college recruits. Committing to Notre Dame at the end of his junior year, Josh scored a career total of 73 touchdowns during his three years on varsity at CB South, despite having his junior year cut short with injury.

Josh played in the first Notre Dame game of the season as a third string running back. Seeing some playing time, Josh was able to score two touchdowns and run over 200 yards. After this stellar performance and the injury of the starting running back, Josh has become the first back-up running back for Notre Dame in his freshman year.

According to ESPN, fewer than half of true college freshman saw playing time last year. In addition, it is not uncommon for freshman to “redshirt” their first year, meaning they are included on the team but are not playing on the field during the actual games. By doing this freshmen are able to play starting their sophomore year — when they are bigger and stronger — and still play for four years. These redshirt freshman are not included in the number of true freshman who see playing time; redshirt freshman see no playing time and make up 36-64% of all incoming freshman, number varying by school.

Josh’s accomplishments are impressive, though he is not featured on the CB South Football’s Seasonal Offensive Record Board, unlike his teammate Matt Johns. After redshirting his freshman year, Matt has become University of Virginia’s starting quarterback as a redshirt sophomore, or college junior.

On Saturday, September 12, Notre Dame faced off against University of Virginia, allowing for the former teammates to face off against each other as quarterback and running back. Josh Adams saw some playing time for a second game in a row, two more games than most freshmen will see you all year, though he contributed to little more than a few rushing yards.

Matt Johns, on the other hand, made two passing plays leading to Virginia’s two touchdowns.

Notre Dame went on to beat Virginia, 34 to 27, despite having an injured quarterback, Malik Zaire, who fractured his ankle during the game. Finishing with a touchdown in the last 12 seconds, Notre Dame had a great game.

CB South eagerly awaits the success of its alumni as they continue to advance through college and beyond. Good luck to Josh and Matt as they tackle their football careers!