Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 41-13vs Wisconsin | 7 | 19 | 2.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 52-0vs Rice | 6 | 29 | 4.8 | 2 | 15 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-10vs Michigan State | 26 | 121 | 4.7 | 1 | 17 | Season-high 121 yds |
| Total | 39 | 169 | 4.1 | 3 | 17 |
#2
Nolan James Jr.
No.303 4★, national recruit — Nolan James Jr.'s opening argument for a Notre Dame job that came with a ghost attached.
5′10″ · 212 lb · Westwood, NJ · DePaul Catholic
The numbers
169
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 121 rush yds, 1 TD, 7 rec yds, vs Michigan State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Freshman running back for Notre Dame. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Notre Dame in 2025.
Buzz vs Tape
Every angle we can check here reads about where you'd expect this season.
39.1own fans
34.3national conversation
Nolan James Jr.
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22
Nolan James Jr. steps into Jeremiyah Love's shoes — the gap is the story.
169RUSH YDS3RUSH TD39CARRIES
4★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.303
recruiting national rank
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
20254 games
- Signed with Notre Dame4-star out of DePaul Catholic
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Notre Dame
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Notre Dame | 39 | 169 | 4.3 | 3 | -- |
| 2025 | Notre Dame | 14 | 37 | 2.6 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 53 | 206 | 3.9 | 3 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Notre Dame | 7 | 73 | 10.4 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Notre Dame | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 7 | 73 | 10.4 | 1 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Nolan James Jr.'s 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 41–13
vs Wisconsin
19 rush yds (7 car)
Dominant 28-point win at home against Wisconsin.
With C. Carr — 239 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 81.3 · -6 rush yds (2 car) · A. Williams — 90 rush yds (20 car) · 2 TD
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Wisconsin · 3&4 · Q4 · EPA +3.38(02:00) Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete short left to #2 N.James Jr. caught at WIS24, for 28 yards to the WIS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:51, 1ST DOWN #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
- Week 2 · Rice · 2&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.96(14:03) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 15 yards gain to the Rice01 (#10 K.Condoll), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Rice · 2&1 · Q2 · EPA +1.90(04:30) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 1 yard gain to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:26 #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY Rice Personal Foul (#57 A.Clemmons) #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY Rice Personal Foul (#57 A.Clemmons) 15 yards from Rice00 to UND50
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 3&4 · Q3 · EPA +1.80(05:48) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush right for 5 yards gain to the MSU47 (#44 C.Wheatland), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 3&3 · Q4 · EPA +1.30(04:48) Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 14 yards gain to the UND30 (#12 C.Stodghill), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 1&2 · Q1 · EPA +1.21(04:34) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 2 yards gain to the MSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:31 #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 2&5 · Q1 · EPA -1.19(02:07) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush left for 0 yards to the UND47 (#55 B.Roberts)
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 2&6 · Q4 · EPA +1.17(03:12) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 7 yards gain to the UND41 (#3 T.Bell), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Michigan State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -1.15(07:10) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush left for 0 yards to the UND42 (#98 D.Simmons; #5 J.Hall)
- Week 2 · Rice · 3&1 · Q1 · EPA +1.11(00:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 2 yards gain to the UND47 (#33 S.Combs), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +121 rushing yards, +1 rushing TD, +2 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Marcus Freeman — 13-2 over that span.
2025Notre Dame10-2HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2026Notre Dame3-0HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: rec yards (93rd percentile). Concern: carries (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (7)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 56.3 | 4.1 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 56.3 | 4.1 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Marcus Freeman
Pass share
45.3%
86 pass / 104 run
Plays / game
63.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.2%
93 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #49
Peaked at #49 this season.
The backfield · Notre Dame
- #22Aneyas Williams224 rushing yards · 2025
- #2Nolan James Jr.37 rushing yards · 2025
- #46Matt Williamsno box-score line yet
- #21Kedren Young2 games · 2026
- #26Javian Osborne1 game · 2026
2 more on the roster · Notre Dame team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology