Tarean Folston carried the ball just three times in 2015 before falling victim to a torn ACL, effectively ending his season. The senior looks to get some revenge against Texas this year and show them what they missed out on. Damien Dennis/The Pit
On just his third carry, Notre Dame running back Tarean Folston saw his 2015 season go up in flames.
Folston left the 2015 opener against Texas after carrying the ball just 19 yards with a torn ACL, leading to him missing the entire season. From the sidelines, the star back would watch as C.J. Prosise and Josh Adams filled his shoes with tremendous success.
Flash forward a year, and Folston is back on the field again, eager to meet Texas once more and deliver his own brand of revenge against the Longhorns.
“This is my number one game on the schedule. I definitely owe them something,” Folston told The Pit. “I’m going to hand it to them personally.”
Folston’s brand of revenge is simple: Put up numbers against the Longhorns. The 5-foot-9, 214-pounder from Cocoa, Florida is eager to show Texas what they missed out on last year.
“How much the coaches give me,” he said in response to how much he’ll put up. “I’m going to run hard and we’re going to come out with a W.”
Despite the mindset heading into Sunday’s matchup, Folston admits he had some jitters coming back to the field in the summer. After going down with an ACL injury, Folston said he was nervous taking his first hit and making his first dash.
But after his first snap, he mentioned his thought process changed from jitters to the idea that there’s no reason “to think like this.”
Folston is expected to start in the backfield this year, with Josh Adams serving as the second running back. Both are likely to share touches throughout the season.
“Folston is a really good runner between the tackles, very instinctive,” Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly said earlier this month at media day. “Plays with really good pad level. And when you look up after the run, he’s picked up six yards and you didn’t even think that he picked up six yards.”
The performance of the running backs is not hindered on the ongoing quarterback battle, according to both Kelly and Folston.
“No, I think the one thing that may change a little bit is Folston is a very experienced player, and you know, that first time out there, 98,000 people, you kind of go to the guy that has a little bit more experience and Folston is that guy,” Kelly said. “And certainly Josh has that experience, too, but third down situations, Folston is an excellent guy coming out of the backfield.”
The seventh year coach added that he’ll look to guys with experience in certain situations, but that Folston is naturally a fit in many roles.
In 2014, Folston played all 13 games for the Irish. He carried the ball 175 times for 889 yards and a 6.3 average. He had six touchdowns his sophomore season. Folston looks to improve on those numbers in 2016 during Notre Dame’s quest for a championship.
That quest begins Sunday in Austin, Texas when the Irish and Longhorns clash in primetime (7:30 p.m. ET) on ABC.
*Tune in to this weeks’ college football preview edition of Upon Further Review to hear the full interview with Irish RB Tarean Folston.
