Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price was our guest on Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix for an in depth conversation on faith, family and football.

LISTEN ON APPLE

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

—

The last time Notre Dame played a night game at Notre Dame Stadium, Jadarian Price took center stage in 2023 with a dynamic kickoff return for a touchdown that rocked the House that Rockne Built in a Notre Dame victory over USC.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Price said in an in depth conversation on Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix about faith, family and football. “Crossing the 50-yard line and you could just hear the whole crowd as I was running. I knew I was going to score, to be honest, but it just puts a smile on your face to see everyone on the sideline happy for you and knowing you put in all the work to make that happen. It’s just a testament to who we are as a program, the brotherhood. Everyone’s happy for one and other and we do it for team glory.”

And while there’s been plenty of highs for Price is his career there have been lows too. His career began with an injury before his first game at Notre Dame. Just this season, he fumbled at a critical time against Louisville and was benched for the rest of the game. The Irish were on the bye the next week and Price did not get a chance for redemption until 2 weeks after the fumble. He’s played his best football of the year in the three games since the fumble.

“You just have to trust the process and understand that’s a rule—you fumble, you’re out the rest of the half or however the coach sees fit,” Price explains. “You have to understand how things go. That’s something that I needed to work on in the moment– just holding onto the ball. The ball is the program and everyone knows that.”

Price says he kept his head held high, knowing to just focus on his next opportunity. But how is Price able to do that? Faith.

“Even though something like that is a huge negative, there’s always something worse out there and you just have to be grateful for the situation you’re in,” Price says.  “And grateful for the opportunity to come back the next day, the next play. It’s the God given talent we have to be able to do that again.”

Price comes from a small town in Texas. He grew up in a close-knit and pretty large family.

“I grew up in Church,” Price says. “I love gospel music and my mom taught me the Word of the Lord as well as my other cousins. I think it’s really important to keep that on your side. Whether anyone out there who reads the Bible or not, it’s important to know some stories that you can relate to in you own life so you can get through hard times and even good times.”

The toughest of times came eight years ago when Price’s mom battled cancer.

“It was a tough time especially being the oldest sibling in the household and having to take care of my little sisters day in and day out while continuing to play football at the same time and going through this,” Price said. “What I learned from my mom fighting in the hospital, fighting though chemotherapy, I translated it to the football field. Whether it was anger or revenge or whatever you see it as–just knowing that something like this is going on, I still have the opportunity to play the game that I love and be there for my family, which was the most important thing.”

You can listen to the full interview for more from Price including how how much enjoys attending Mass before games, listening to gospel music before games and being mentored by running backs coach Deland McCollough.