H.B. Blades gets a story in the Altoona paper.

“It hit me this year right before camp that this is my last football camp at Pitt so I’m giving my all on every play and am not wasting even one rep,” Blades said. “I’m going to play this season with the same attitude because I will never have another chance to play college football and help Pitt have a successful season.”

Blades is one of the best trash talkers in the Big East and not shy about being vocal. The best part is he backs it up on the field and in practice.

To follow up a little more on Dickerson in the backfield, this piece from Ivan Maisel is a must read about the change in the way offenses work in college. Especially at the tailback.

It was an throwaway comment made by Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino during the Big East Conference preview last month, yet it said volumes about the state of the running game in college football.

Petrino spoke of his senior tailback Michael Bush, a 6-foot-3, 247-pound tailback who delivers punishment and first downs in equal doses. Bush rushed for 1,143 yards and 23 touchdowns last season despite missing four starts because of injuries. He is the kind of tailback that every college coach wants.

And here is what Petrino said.

“We have got to get the ball in his hands 25, 30 times a game.”

It’s a sentiment that any coach with a back as talented as Bush would voice. But look again. Petrino didn’t say that he wanted Bush to run the ball 25, 30 times a game. He wanted the ball in Bush’s hands that many times. Bush may run, but Bush will also catch passes.

As coaches strive for more balance, as they try to find that second dimension that will tamp down aggressive defenses, the coaches have created the era of the Incredible Shrinking Tailback. There just aren’t as many carries out there as there used to be.

…

Last year, for the first time, the average number of rushing attempts per game dipped below 39 (38.6). Also for the first time, the average number of passing attempts reached 32 (32.0). More important, for the third consecutive year, I-A schools set a record in average completion percentage (.579).

Bush like Dickerson was also a QB in high school.