2015 Top Plays: No. 5 — Josh Adams' 98-Yard Touchdown Run
The following is part of a five-part series that will appear on BlueandGold.com during the next week. We will be counting down the five most memorable plays of the 2015 season for Notre Dame. These are plays that stand out not only for their athleticism and grit, but also for the significance they had on the course of the season as a whole. Join the conversation by sharing your memories of each play and where it will rank on your own list of the year's best.
The Situation
While replacing the injured C.J. Prosise, freshman running back Josh Adams scampered 98 yards for the longest score in Irish history to break open a 21-0 lead over Wake Forest.
With the Irish leading 14-0 in the second quarter, Adams found the outside and ran those 98 yards to tie the Football Bowl Subdivision record for longest run by a freshman, previously held by Tulane’s Jerald Sowell (1993) and Middle Tennessee State’s Jordan Parker (2012).
Adams’ run joined Prosise’s 91-yard jaunt in the 30-22 win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 19 as the season’s two rushes for 90-plus yards. In the previous 126 years of Notre Dame football, the Irish had amassed two such plays overall.
“I did the best I could not to get tackled," Adams said.
"That was just great blocking all around. Blocking down the field, initially by the offensive line. I was just trying to do my job and read the holes correctly."
The Play
The Big Picture
Adams set a Notre Dame freshman record with 835 yards in 2015 and, even more impressively, notched a 7.1 average per rush.
It was part of an overall Irish ground attack that accumulated 1,867 yards between Prosise and Adams and contributed toward a balanced effort — along with sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer setting a Notre Dame signal-caller record with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Adams will return in 2016 with fellow rising sophomore Dexter Williams as well as senior Tarean Folston, who was lost for 2015 only seven snaps into the season opener. They will be joined by incoming freshmen Deon McIntosh and Tony Jones.
Prosise declared for the NFL Draft following his senior season.