Autry Denson 2017-18 Football Staff

Running Backs


phone 631-7475
Email julie.a.debuysser.3@nd.edu
Autry Denson
Bio

THE DENSON FILE

Hometown: Davie, Florida

High School: Nova High School

College: Notre Dame (Business Administration, 1999)

Wife: Elaine

Children: Daughters – Ashley, Asia; Sons – Autry III, Elijah
 

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

1995-98 Notre Dame Running Back

1999-00 Miami Dolphins Running Back

2001 Chicago Bears Running Back

2002 Indianapolis Colts Running Back

2002 Detroit Lions Running Back

2004 Montreal Alouettes Running Back
 

BOWLS/PLAYOFFS PLAYED

1995 Notre Dame (Fiesta)

1996 Notre Dame (Orange)

1997 Notre Dame (Independence)

1998 Notre Dame (Gator)

COACHING CAREER

2010 Pope John Paul II H.S. Head Coach

2011-13 Bethune-Cookman Running Backs

2014 Miami, Ohio Running Backs

2015 USF Running Backs

2015-17 Notre Dame Running Backs
 

BOWLS/PLAYOFFS COACHED

2012 Bethune-Cookman (FCS first round)

2013 Bethune-Cookman (FCS first round)

2015 Notre Dame (Fiesta)

PERSONAL INFORMATION

  • Four-year monogram winner, three-year starter and two-time Most Valuable Player at Notre Dame (1995-98)
  • All-time leading rusher (4,318 yards) in school history
  • Recorded 43 career rushing TDs and 5,327 all-purpose yards, both of which rank second in Notre Dame annals
  • Eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing over each of his final three years with the Irish
  • Named an Associated Press All-America selection as a senior in 1998
  • Earned 1999 Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player

COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Third season as the Irish running backs coach in 2017
  • Coached a Notre Dame running back group in 2016 that rushed for 10 TDs and 1,471 yards on 275 carries — good for a 5.35 yards per carry average
  • Helped Josh Adams lead the Irish in rushing in 2016 with 933 yards on 158 carries and five TDs
  • Adams is the fastest Notre Dame running back to reach 1,000 career rushing yards (16th career game) since Darius Walker accomplished the feat in his 14th Irish game in 2005
  • Adams closed the ‘16 campaign with his eighth career 100-yard rushing game and a career-best 180 yards at rival USC
  • Coached a Notre Dame running back group in 2015 that rushed for 18 TDs and 1,967 yards on 299 carries — good for a 6.58 yards per carry average
  • Mentored C.J. Prosise in 2015 — who rushed for 1,032 yards (18th 1,000-yard rushing season in school history) in his first season at the position
  • Prosise eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing barrier faster than any Irish running back in school history with the exception of All-American Reggie Brooks in 1992
  • Prosise was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks
  • Tutored Josh Adams — who rushed for 835 yards in 2015 — best in freshmen school history
  • Adams ran for 168 yards at Stanford — topping the school’s 40-year-old single-game freshman record
  • The Irish ran for a season-high 457 yards vs. UMass  — the best rushing total by Notre Dame in 23 years
  • Notre Dame registered 299 yards on the ground vs. Stanford — the most by an opponent in Cardinal head coach David Shaw’s five seasons (35 carries for an 8.5 per-carry average against nation’s No. 22 rush defense)
  • The Irish averaged 207.6 rushing yards per game in 2015, including six games with 200+ yards (Texas, Virginia, Georgia Tech, UMass, USC and Stanford)
  • Notre Dame had only two 90+-yard rushes in the first 126 seasons of Irish football, yet matched that total in 2015 with a pair of 90+-yard TD runs (Adams 98, Prosise 91)
  • Returned to his alma mater following a brief stint as the running backs coach at the University of South Florida
  • Spent one season as the running backs coach at Miami University (2014)
  • Served as the head coach for one season at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida (2010)
  • Coached running backs at Bethune-Cookman University for three years (2011-13)
  • Member of a coaching staff that helped the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and Football Championship Series playoff berth in 2013
  • Guided a Bethune-Cookman running back group that registered 2,179 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns and a 5.4 yards-per-carry average
  • Mentored Isidore Jackson (828 rushing yards, 5.6 yards per carry, eight rushing TDs), Cary White (485, 5.1, eight) and Anthony Jordan (410, 5.0, five) — each of whom rushed for at least 400 yards, averaged over 5.0 yards per carry and recorded at least five rushing TDs in 2013
  • Coached a 1,000-yard rusher in 2012 as Jackson ran for 1,069 yards, becoming the first Wildcat to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing since 1997 and the first Bethune-Cookman player to finish the season ranked either first or second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in rushing
  • Guided a 2012 Wildcats’ running back group that recorded 2,928 yards, collected 28 of the team’s 43 TDs, and saw four different players run for more than 400 yards on the year
  • Part of an offensive coaching staff in 2012 that helped Bethune-Cookman lead the MEAC and rank 10th nationally in rushing (244.4 yards per game)
  • Coached his inaugural Wildcats’ running back group in 2011 to 2,058 rushing yards, which led an offensive ground attack that finished fifth nationally in rushing (259.3 yards per game)
  • Worked with the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins as part of the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, where he reunited with former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, who drafted him for the Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft
  • Formed a youth program called POISE (Perseverance, Opportunity, Intelligence, Sacrifice and Effort) that worked with teenage athletes throughout Broward County, Florida, in education, on the field and in Bible study
  • Served as the inaugural commissioner of the Run for Your Goal Youth (RFYG) Flag Football League, which provided a safe place for the youth of South Florida to learn the game of football

 

DYNAMIC DISCIPLES

RB Josh Adams (Notre Dame)

  • Set Notre Dame single-season freshman rushing record with 835 yards in 2015
  • Set Notre Dame single-game freshman rushing record with 168 yards at Stanford on Nov. 28, 2015

RB C.J. Prosise (Notre Dame)

  • 2016 NFL Draft Third Round pick (Seattle Seahawks)
  • 2015 Maxwell Award Semifinalist
  • 2015 Doak Walker Award Semifinalist
  • 2015 Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American

RB Isidore Jackson (Bethune-Cookman)

  • Ran for 1,069 yards, second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, in 2012
  • First Bethune-Cookman running back to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing since 1997
  • Two-time First Team All-MEAC