Originally recruited to Notre Dame as a cornerback, C.J. Prosise has had one of the more interesting collegiate careers in recent memory. Despite coming to Notre Dame to play cornerback, Prosise switched to the wide receiver position. However, after Brian Kelly noticed is his natural playmaking ability with the ball in his hands, Kelly decided to move Prosise to the running back position.
At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, the move was actually relatively seamless for Prosise. After Greg Bryant was suspended and Tarean Foster went down with a serious knee injury, Prosise was called upon for the starting gig and what has ensued is 156 carries for just over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. The more intriguing thing being that he did all of this with an unproven freshman quarterback in DeShone Kizer. Let’s take a look at the tape and see how Prosise projects to the NFL.
Patience is a key with any running back and despite being new to the position, I think Prosise shows the ability to diagnose the blocking in front of him and finding the best hole with his vision. Here’s an example of that.
The key to an NFL running back is how well he can cut. Prosise takes small steps when he runs the football within the tackles, allowing him to make excellent cutbacks.
Prosise is able to evade would-be tackles by using subtle movements to make the defender hesitate. Here’s an example of Prosise wiggling his way for a nine-yard gain.
The ability to make something out of nothing is another thing that can make a running back so dynamic. In this GIF, because of two elusive moves, Prosise scores.
In the next run, we see Prosise putting his best traits together. His terrific straight-line speed, his field vision, and his cutting ability are on full display.
Because he previously was a receiver, Prosise has a ton of ability out of the backfield as a pass-catching option.
Here’s another example of Prosise’s ability to bring in the football, displaying he can be a real weapon for a team as a pass-catching back.
I’m going to continue to express just how good Prosise’s field vision is and how well he cuts and changes directions.
In this GIF, we see Prosise’s power, as well as his field vision. If you don’t come prepared, Prosise won’t struggle to run through arm-tackles.
This right here is why Prosise can be successful in the NFL. He’s excellent at sensing where the hole will open up, allowing him to pick up big chunks of yardage.
Despite being relatively new to the running back position, Prosise really looks like a natural at the position. However, because all of his runs come from shotgun, I question his transition to an I-formation or even a strong formation or a weak formation.
Nevertheless, Prosise has extremely feet. He plays with an excellent combination of speed and power. I love his makeup as a receiver as well, as it truly makes him a dual-threat type of guy.
How would Prosise fit in Dallas? I think Prosise would come in and immediately become the best pass-catcher from the running back position on this team. Dallas has the offense to run a vaunted zone-blocking scheme, similar to the one they deployed in 2014 with DeMarco Murray. If Prosise can continue to adapt to the position, he’d fit real well in Dallas as the No. 1 running back for years to come.
Games watched: Mass, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and USC.
Next up on the docket: Kenneth Dixon
