Should Josh Adams Stay At Notre Dame For His Senior Year?

Brian Kelly beefed up his pitch to a quartet of players to return to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2018. Kelly made recruiting pitches to running back Josh Adams, defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, linebacker Te'von Coney, and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to play one more year before entering the NFL Draft.

It's quite the group of players, and they represent some of the best the Irish have on the roster right now.

• Tillery leads the team in sacks and quarterback hurries.
• Coney leads the team in tackles.
• St. Brown leads the team in receptions and yards.
• Adams leads the team in just about every statistical rushing category.

Of the four players mentioned, none would likely get picked before the 4th round. However... of the four, Josh Adams is the only one that should enter the NFL Draft with a year of eligibility left at Notre Dame.

Running backs don't have a very long shelf life, and with Josh Adams, he has a long history of not just injuries, but also the number of carries he's had in college. Adams has played since the first game of his freshman year, and has amassed 465 carries to go along with his 3157 yards rushing.

That's a lot of work, a lot of hits, and a lot of damage all the way around. Perhaps getting an extra year's worth of NFL paychecks would be best.

If Adams returns to the Irish in 2018, he has a great chance of becoming the all-time leading rusher in Notre Dame history - but it probably won't improve his draft stock much.

It really boils down to how much a Notre Dame degree means to Josh Adams right now as opposed to 6 years from now (or more). What is he willing to sacrifice as a professional football player, to end his career at Notre Dame next season?