RB C.J. PROSISE, NOTRE DAME*

6’0” – 220 lbs. – 4.55e

Played wide receiver and safety in high school; redshirted in 2012, then appeared as a receiver and special-teams contributor in each of the following two seasons, starting six games as a redshirt sophomore. Shifted to running back as a junior, working as the team’s starter; will leave school with just one year of relatively light use. Tall, well-built running back who looks capable of carrying the load from a physical standpoint (although he hasn’t been asked to do so yet.) Does most of his work out of the shotgun, but will take some snaps out of the pistol or move around the formation to create favorable looks. Most of his carries call for rushes outside the tackles, either sweeps or stretches. Will extend the play horizontally but gets upfield pretty quickly once he’s identified a hole; has good vision and rarely makes bad decisions before getting to the line. Impressive ability to make defenders miss once he’s in the open field. Powerful and balanced enough to run through arm tackles and will lower his shoulder into contact, but has more of a finesse on-field temperament despite his size; determined with some leg drive but isn’t really asked to do a lot of power running up the middle. Has pretty good awareness in blitz pickup. Willing to step up as a pass protector; stays on his feet and will engage opponents, although he could do a better job of getting leverage in order to avoid being knocked back into the pocket. Leaks out on delayed releases at times; sometimes used as a joker. Often runs out routes a few yards past the line of scrimmage and, unsurprisingly given his background as a wide receiver, looks comfortable catching the ball; however, teams will need to go back and look at his time at wide receiver to get a feel for what he could contribute as a pass-catching option beyond the basics his college offense allowed running backs to execute. An interesting prospect who combines size, elusiveness, and versatility, and whose ability to acclimate to a new position should interest teams. The lack of tread he’s accumulated at the college level should also be attractive for teams and could earn him a second-day selection, even though he doesn’t have a lot of tape available. Some teams may be concerned that his lack of elite speed won’t allow him to get to the sidelines like he did in college; little tape exists of him working as a between-the-tackles runner behind an under-center quarterback.

Games watched: Clemson (’15), Massachusetts (’15), Southern California (’15)