How Does Ex-Stanford Back Trevor Speights Fit At Notre Dame?

High-energy recruiter Lance Taylor was unable to lure prep sensation Will Shipley into Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class, losing out to Clemson at the start of May, but Taylor’s Stanford connections paid off this week when it came to another highly skilled running back. 

Trevor Speights, who rushed for nearly 10,000 yards and 120 touchdowns in his high school career in McAllen, Texas, announced his intention to swap Palo Alto, Calif., for South Bend, Ind., as a graduate transfer. Speights, a 5-foot-11, 193-pounder, will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Fighting Irish. 

It was Taylor, then coaching running backs for the Cardinal, who secured a commitment from Speights as a three-star prospect in the  2016 recruiting class. Things didn’t turn out as well for Speights as they did for Taylor’s two most famous pupils, Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love, but there’s still time for Speights to leave his mark. 

“I am thankful for my time at Stanford and for everyone who has helped me while I was there,” Speights said in a statement. “It has been an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to pursue my dreams on and off the field. I’m thankful to have had great teammates whom I have created lifelong bonds with, and I look forward to what y’all do in the future. I will miss y’all. … 

“Thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout this difficult process. It has been a long month, but I am grateful to have the support system in place to come to a big decision like this one.”

Speights, part of an 11-man (and counting) set of Stanford transfers off a 4-8 disappointment,  becomes the fourth graduate transfer Irish coach Brian Kelly has landed in this recruiting cycle. Speights joins former Northwestern
NWE
wide receiver Ben Skowronek, former Ohio State safety Isiaiah Pryor and former N.C. State cornerback Nick McCloud. 

All should get a chance to see significant playing time, if and when the 2020 season takes place. 

Speights sat out as a freshman in 2016 and missed all of 2019 with an undisclosed injury. He saw action in 11 games in 2017, rushing for 142 yards on 36 carries, and added 221 yards and one touchdown in 2018. 

He joins a crowded backfield situation, even with the loss of leading rusher Tony Jones Jr. to a pro career. Also at Taylor’s disposal in his new role as run-game coordinator are oft-injured junior Jafar Armstrong, sophomores C’Bo Flemister and Jahmir Smith; redshirt freshman Kyren Williams and freshman speedster Chris Tyree.  

Another option could include versatile sophomore Avery Davis, another Texas prep standout who has bounced from quarterback to receiver to running back and then to cornerback in his brief time on campus. 

Look for Taylor to mix and match his running back group behind one of the nation’s most experienced offensive lines. Sharing the burden has typically been the way of late at Notre Dame, where Kelly’s first decade on the job produced just three individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons: Josh Adams (2017), C.J. Prosise (2015) and Cierre Wood (2011).

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