Jadarian Price told his mother to be patient. His time would come.
The Seattle Seahawks rookie stayed at Notre Dame for his senior season rather than bolt via the transfer portal, despite some lucrative deals. The NFL would soon come calling.
Indeed, the 22-year-old running back was drafted with the 32nd pick in this year's draft by the Seahawks. He made his debut in Seattle's opener against the New England Patriots, running for 13 yards on his first
carry and finishing with 52 yards on 10 carries. He also caught a pair of passes for six yards in the Seahawks' 13-10 comeback win.
He wasn't surprised at the auspicious debut.
“Not really because you go against a top-five defense in the NFL every day in practice, and you know those guys are special. They prepared us well for what was to come in the game," he said.
Price steps into a role with the Seahawks that was filled last year by Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl MVP who has moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday, he'll play against the Arizona Cardinals and former Notre Dame teammate and Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love. The Cardinals drafted Love with the third pick.
Price played behind Love at Notre Dame but still managed to rush for 674 yards on 113 carries with 11 touchdowns his senior season. He also had two catches for TDs.
Price's journey included challenges, and it wasn't just about competing for carries with Love at Notre Dame. His mother, Jessica Butler, had cancer when he was younger.
Price became a star at Denison High School in Texas and received dozens of scholarship offers before settling at Notre Dame. Before his senior year with the Irish, the transfer portal beckoned, but Price decided to stay put.
“I was really close when my mom heard about what Texas Tech was offering. I told her: ‘Just wait until the NFL money hits. We’ll be good,’" Price said. “She trusted me on that, and look what happened.”
In the end, it was all about honoring his commitment to his Notre Dame teammates and coaches.
“It was really important. That’s just to show who I am as a person, but also so people back home and everyone close to me can see that if you commit to something, give it all you got. Don’t shy away from competition or challenges, and that’s pretty much what I showed. There was a challenge ahead of me and competition, and I still attacked it.”
Price's work ethic has been noticed by his new Seattle teammates, who weren't surprised at his debut. Price was held out of preseason games and dealt with an upper-leg issue during training camp.
“We were very deliberate about the reps that he was going to get, and how he was going to be used. He didn’t play in the preseason. It was the very first NFL game, huge stage,” offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said. "We wanted to be cautious in terms of his workload. He earned more reps moving forward, and we’ll continue to bring him along and develop him the right way.”
The Seahawks had a slow start against the Patriots and were hurt on their first series when quarterback Sam Darnold was knocked out of the game with what turned out to be a glute injury.
Drew Lock took over and the Seahawks rallied. Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba with a 45-yard pass on fourth-and-1 following an interception by Nehemiah Pritchett to even the score at 10 in the fourth quarter before Jason Myers' 26-yard field goal.
“He ran tough, man. Super proud of him, I thought it was a great first game," Smith-Njigba said about Price. "That first run had a lot of juice in it. He’s just going to keep building. I’m excited to see how far he grows throughout the season.”
Price is looking forward to building on his debut. He already has the support of his No. 1 fan, his mom.
“She was proud of me," he said. “Just nervous on the first play as always, as she should be as a mom, but yeah just proud.”
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