Notre Dame Football: A Year of Change for Amir Carlisle

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In just one year Amir Carlisle has gone from an oft-used running back to a seldom-used running back to an intriguing slot receiver.

It was just this time last year—heading into a Week 3 matchup with Purdue—that the then-junior sat in front of the media and fielded questions about the running back rotation and about opposing his father, Duane, Purdue’s director of sports performance and the head strength and conditioning coach for the football squad.

But after falling out of the rotation last season following the win over the Boilermakers and switching positions in the spring, Carlisle finds himself with a new opportunity this year.

“It is different,” Carlisle said. “It’s just another opportunity to go out there and get a win for the team. I’m approaching it the same way I always approach things.”

For the ever-positive and detail-oriented Carlisle, that means striving for excellence and focusing on his practice habits. It’s that sort of focus, he says, that has allowed him to make the shift from running back to slot receiver.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Carlisle had announced his presence emphatically last season as a running back, galloping 45 yards on Notre Dame’s first play from scrimmage in the season opener against Temple. Carlisle averaged roughly 12 touches in each of the first three games last season. But he coughed up a fourth-quarter fumble against the Boilermakers, and Carlisle had just 17 more touches the rest of the season—never more than three in a game.

“I learned from that,” Carlisle said of the fumble. “It was a learning experience and I put it in the past.”

In the same way he’s been tested by ankle and collarbone injuries since transferring to Notre Dame from USC, Carlisle was tried by the lack of the playing time.

“Throughout the injuries there was times I could’ve gotten down, and last season didn’t really go how I planned for it go, but I really got on my Bible and prayed about things and talked to my mom,” Carlisle said. “I have to be positive and approach everything with excellence.”

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

On-field, in-game excellence started to ooze through for Carlisle on Saturday against Michigan, when the 5’10”, 190-pounder snatched seven receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Carlisle’s first two touchdowns in an Irish uniform were solid, but his standout play came five snaps before the second touchdown.

Carlisle nimbly toe-tapped his way along the sideline and grabbed a 21-yard strike from Everett Golson, looking like anything but a converted running back who had never played wide receiver before, save for a couple plays in high school.

“I thought this was a statement game for him,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said afterward.

Carlisle showed an ability to produce from the slot, a position typified by more questions than answers since Kelly took over.

“I think really what put him over the top was his concentration on catching the football with his hands,” Kelly said Tuesday. “Once that really became something that he felt comfortable doing, I think it really allowed him to progress quickly.”

Back at home during the offseason, Carlisle worked with Mike Johnson, a former NFL and collegiate assistant coach who is now the head coach at Carlisle’s high school, The King’s Academy, in Sunnyvale, California. Together, Carlisle and Johnson did a lot of cone work, focusing on accelerating in and out of breaks. They discussed how to attack various coverages.

“He did an awesome job of really just teaching me the finer details of the wide receiver position,” Carlisle said.

Carlisle has continued to focus on those same areas with Irish offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock. For Carlisle, it’s a daily process of feeling increasingly comfortable as a wide receiver.

It also helps when aspects of the running back position overlap with working in the slot. Take Carlisle’s second touchdown against Michigan, for example. Kelly dialed up a tunnel screen to the left side for Carlisle.

“When the call came in from the sideline, my eyes lit up,” Carlisle said.

“Screens just give me the opportunity to get in space, and I like to think that I operate well in space, and it’s just really fun when you can catch the ball and you have a whole bunch of blockers and a whole bunch of green grass out in front of you,” he added.

Carlisle breezed untouched into the end zone from 12 yards out to make it 28-0.

“I just had to run straight, basically,” Carlisle said of the score.

Not much else about Carlisle’s path has been straightforward.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.