Notre Dame running back Kedren Young is expected back for fall camp after spending the better part of the last year recovering from an ACL tear, and his return could be the wild card that elevates a talented but unproven position group.

The former 2024 top-100 recruit out of Lufkin, Texas, brings a combination of size, power, and explosiveness that the Fighting Irish running back room lacks, and his potential breakout is one of the more fascinating storylines heading into the 2026 season for head coach Marcus Freeman’s squad.

A recruit with huge upside derailed by injury

When Notre Dame landed Young in the 2024 recruiting class, there was genuine excitement about the future of the position beyond Jeremiyah Love. The 5-11, 234-pound back flashed an impressive blend of physicality and burst during a brief glimpse as a true freshman, but his two years on campus have been derailed by injury, particularly this past season while recovering from a torn ACL.

After being limited for the majority of the offseason, Young now appears ready to return for fall camp. His presence has been a bit out of sight, out of mind this offseason because so much of the conversation has centered around what Aneyas Williams, Nolan James Jr., and dynamic true freshmen Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne can bring to the table.

That excitement is warranted. But the potential breakout from Young deserves more attention than it has received.

Young fills a role Notre Dame desperately needs

Here’s the thing about this running back room: none of the other options carry Young’s frame. Williams is a tough, short-area runner with a solid power profile. James is no small player at 215 pounds, and both freshmen have the upside to fill out physically over time. None of them are 5-11 and 234 pounds with the downhill explosiveness Young showed coming out of Lufkin High School.

From a baseline perspective, if Young is healthy, there should be an easy role for him as a short-yardage hammer. That element was extremely inconsistent for Notre Dame last season, even with Love and fellow 2026 NFL Draft first-rounder Jadarian Price toting the rock. The Fighting Irish need to be better on money downs. Converting third-and-1s and fourth-and-2s by leaning on the run game in critical moments is how this program is built.

Young, just from a profile perspective, fills that role very nicely, at least on paper.

The upside is tantalizing

There is, however, a ceiling beyond short-yardage work that makes Young’s return especially compelling. If he is back physically to where he was before the injury, there is a world where Young threatens to become the lead back in what will be a committee approach. The talent was evident on film coming out of high school as a top-100 overall player in the 2024 class.

Those special traits do not disappear because of an ACL tear.

Regardless of how Young’s season unfolds, Notre Dame will feature Williams heavily, lean on James, and almost certainly give at least one of the freshmen a high-volume role at some point this year. Young can be the ultimate wild card in that group. He could ascend to being the best back on the roster at some point during the season, or he could settle in as a solid depth piece. There are a lot of realities that his 2026 campaign can produce.

The upside, though, is what makes this worth monitoring closely. If Young breaks out, it could turn Notre Dame’s running back room from good to potentially excellent. The talent is still there. It just needs to catch up on health.