Greg Bryant Suspended for 2015 Notre Dame Season

Just one day after we published an article outlining a “Now or Never” season for junior running back Greg Bryant, news broke that the Florida native was suspended for the entire 2015 season just weeks after it was announced he would be suspended for the first four games .

In a statement released by Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly said that, “There are certain expectations within our program that must be met on a daily basis.  Quite simply, Greg did not meet those expectations.”

The statement did say, however, that Bryant would remain on scholarship and be able to practice with the team – news that would suggest Bryant was academically eligible from a NCAA standpoint and not a situation like last year’s “Academic 5” or Everett Golson two years ago.  In those other cases, the players were no longer enrolled at the University and thus ineligible to practice with the team.

For Notre Dame, the news is crippling from a depth perspective this fall.  Even with Bryant, Notre Dame only had three non-freshmen running backs on the roster and one, CJ Prosise, just converted to running back in the spring.  The Irish were already expected to have to get early contributions from Dexter Williams and/or Josh Adams before Bryant’s suspension.  After, it’s almost a given that both will see action this fall.

Outside of the frosh, Notre Dame could also turn to 5th year senior Amir Carlisle.  While Carlisle had a great spring at the slot position, he has experience as a running back from playing the position in 2013 and could provide some depth if the youngsters are unable to pick up the offense quick enough or if Josh Adams isn’t recovered enough from his ACL injury he suffered as a senior to play at a high level. All reports are that Adams is in great shape, but an athlete is almost never fully 100% the year following an ACL injury.

Bryant’s suspension that any hybrid role for CJ Prosise is almost certainly out the window now – he pretty much has to be exclusively a running back now.  Prosise was already ahead of Bryant on the depth chart following the spring, but Bryant’s presence would have allowed Mike Sanford and the Notre Dame offensive staff some room to get creative with his role.  While Prosise still could get moved around a bit it’s likely the vast majority of his time will be in the backfield.

Tarean Folston also now becomes one of the most indispensable players on the Notre Dame roster for the 2015 season.  Folston will without a doubt be the man in the backfield for the Irish and with less experienced depth behind him; a 1,000 yard season nows seems almost certain assuming Folston remains healthy.

Bryant was also considered to be one of the best punt returners on the roster as evidenced by his near touchdown return against Louisville.  Look for Notre Dame to give incoming freshman CJ Sanders a look as a punt returner along with some of the usual suspects we’ve seen return punts in the past such as Amir Carlisle and possibly Will Fuller.

For Bryant, Tuesday’s news is just another setback in what has become, at least so far, a disappointing career for a former 5-star rated running back.  After playing very early on as a freshman, Bryant ended up becoming a medical redshirt in 2013.  A year ago Bryant looked strong early in the season, but his role diminished as the season progressed.

Bryant remains enrolled at Notre Dame and is expected to return to campus as a student later in August.  His future after that, however, remains uncertain at this time.  Given his suspension is related to meeting Notre Dame’s expectation, look for the transfer rumors and speculation to run rampant although any transfer would still require Bryant to miss all of the 2015 season.