WHEN NOTRE DAME running back Jadarian Price went through the speed dating-like gauntlet of NFL combine interviews in February, he heard two questions more than any others.
Teams peppered him about his role in a multiback offense at Notre Dame -- specifically what it was like sharing the spotlight with Jeremiyah Love, the jet engine who last season won the Doak Walker Award as the top college running back.
"The other half asked: Why didn't you go somewhere else and want to be a feature back?" Price said.
Price and Love were at the combine to be evaluated as individual draft prospects, on their own merits -- but fully separating them proved difficult. Not only did they share a position and a team, but both project strongly in the draft, and are set to enter a league that is shifting in how it uses running backs.
Although featured backs remain in some corners of the NFL, more teams are employing and seeking multiback rotations. Super Bowl participants Seattle (Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet) and New England (TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson) both used two-back systems in their offenses this past season.
"The NFL has become a two-back league," an NFL running backs coach told ESPN.