Notre Dame announced this week that junior running back Gi’Bran Payne underwent a successful surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on his right knee. Payne suffered the injury after carrying the ball 10 times for 58 yards during Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game in the spring. In a blow to the Irish’s offense, Payne is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.
Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough said of Payne earlier this spring on Irish Sports Daily, “Gi’Bran is like the silent assassin of the whole thing. Gi’Bran’s vertical went from 32 to 37 inches. It shows the guy is a more explosive player and Gi’Bran doesn’t make mistakes. Gi’Bran maximizes. Gi’Bran is football smart, a situational master—all these things. He’s bringing his lunch bucket to the table every day.
“As we continue to move forward, you’ll see more of that from him,” McCullough added. “But short-yardage-wise, he’s got a low center of gravity, at pad level, he knows how to get skinny and other things like that. The same things he brings to the table as a short-yardage back as far as leverage, he brings to the table as a pass protector.”
The Immediate Future Without Gi’Bran Payne
In a backfield that featured Audric Estime last season, Payne still managed to carve a valuable role in the unit as a short-yardage weapon. He rushed for 168 yards on 45 carries a season ago and scored two touchdowns on the ground last year and two through the air. He added nine receptions out of the backfield. Interestingly, Payne had more carries on third down than any other Irish running back in 2023. Payne rushed for a career-high 35 yards and a touchdown against Stanford in last year’s season finale.
Payne was expected to play a significant role in the Irish backfield this season. He demonstrated improved explosiveness in the Blue-Gold Game. It was especially noticeable with his initial burst. Payne’s setback is the latest in a string of injuries he has suffered since high school. He had a broken right ankle in 2020 and a torn meniscus in his right knee in 2021 in his final two seasons at Cincinnati’s La Salle High School. While Payne’s injury is a blow to the Irish’s offense for the coming season, Notre Dame still has experienced ball carriers Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to anchor the position.
Newcomers Will Need to Step Up
Payne’s absence this season should accelerate playing time for talented freshmen Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young. With Payne out for the season, the Irish must expedite the development of Williams and Young. Williams flashed in the Blue-Gold Game. He carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards and scored a touchdown.
In his press conference following the Blue-Gold Game, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman singled out Williams. “Aneyas played well. He played really well,” Freeman said, “and it was good to see live. We didn’t have a whole bunch of live periods throughout the spring. The thing for me is that what prevents running backs from playing at a young age is protection, right? It’s pass protection. It’s not being able to run with the football. That’s why we recruited him. We know they can run with the football. Being able to trust them in pass protection—he’s grown tremendously there. And he’s the one that stuck out to me more than anything.”
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