Aggie backs feeling better about roles
In the USU backfield, there’s no replacing the leading rusher from last season, and there’s no getting to know a whole new crew of new players.
The Aggies return two of their top three rushers from 2007 in sophomores Derrvin Speight and Curtis Marsh. Speight led Utah State with 525 yards and three touchdowns, while Marsh racked up 302 yards and two scores.
And with a year of experience and still-young legs, Aggie backs may be primed for a better season next year.
“It’s easier now,” Marsh said of running in the Aggie offense. “I just think that whole year of experience and looking back on last season and then coming out here and doing it again just makes it more polished.”
To keep getting carries in the Aggies’ offense, Speight and Marsh will have to fight off competition from a deep stable of backs.
Running backs coach Shaun Johnson said, “We wanted to have guys, at any given moment, if you miss a practice or aren’t consistent, there’s somebody right on your heels, shopping for the opportunity to get in there and take some reps. That’s the beauty of it. When you’re that deep, it makes all those guys aware and they compete that much harder.”
Some of the other backs shopping for carries this spring are freshman Josh Flores and senior running-back convert Derrick Cumbee. Although he’s been injured and hasn’t participated this spring, redshirt freshman Robert Turbin could be another USU running back hungry for the ball in the fall.
And people can’t forget about sophomore fullback Jacob Actkinson, who had 86 yards and a touchdown in 2007.
“It’s a luxury, I think, it’s a plus, when you have some guys with some experience back there,” Johnson said.
Along with building on their experience, Marsh said the backs are putting an emphasis this spring on making potential tacklers miss.
“They call it getting telephone poled when you stutter so much and the guy ends up tackling you when you should have just ran by him and made him miss,” he said.
USU running backs are also working on shotgun and option runs, but the main focus is being familiar with the reads in Utah State’s zone running attack, Johnson said.
The zone blocking scheme the Aggies run allows the running back to use his vision, pick a hole or cutback into open space, but Marsh said it can be hard to pick the right option.
The young Aggie backs will need to continue to improve their vision and decision making to help improve Utah State’s running game-something Dickey said was key to making the offense more balanced and opening up the play action passing game.
-da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu