You know, I started to think that my observations last night of Coach Wannstedt might be warming up to (or at least accepting out of necessity) the idea of using more than one running back in the backfield might have been a bit of wishful thinking on my part. Looks like it was actually close to reality (broken clock, twice a day, correct). According to the beat reporter notebook.
Running backs coach David Walker said, “We’re going to have to be a running back by committee, I don’t think there’s much question about that and the guys understand that. We don’t have a Hershel Walker in our backfield and that is no disrespect to the guys we do have. We just don’t have a clear guy who is so much better than the competition that it is a no-brainer.
“So we’re going to be running back by committee. That way we’ll be fresh in the games and be able to play extremely hard and guys will be able to compete throughout the whole year. It is a very healthy situation for us.”
The key player in the mix is Tim Murphy, who could end up as the starter at either fullback or tailback. If he moves to fullback, that means the starting tailback job would likely be Rashad Jennings‘ to lose.
“Rashad is doing well, but don’t forget, there are a number of freshmen and there are some veterans like Brandon Mason and Raymond Kirkley who will have a lot to say about this before the season gets here,” Walker said. “Everyone is competing and they are all pushing each other so the players that are the most productive over the next few weeks are the ones who will play.”
The notebook piece also observed that the defense seemed to have a little more of the advantage in practice. Not terribly surprising. The defense may have players shuffled, but there are more returning starters on the line and in the secondary. The defensive edge, was also echoed in this collection of quick observations and quotes.
Freshman Running Back LaRod Stephens(-Howling) gets a positive piece on his performance in training camp.
The one area where there has been some disappointment has been in the receiving corp. Greg Lee being out with his sore shoulder (no longer in a sling, though) was supposed to give some of the other receivers a chance to step-up. So far no one has shown any consistency. The closest appears to be Redshirt Freshman Marcel Pestano.
Receivers coach Aubrey Hill said Pestano could be on the verge of breaking out.
“He made some plays in the spring,” Hill said. “We’re looking for that total consistency. He has taken that approach these first few days and has been very consistent. We look for him to do some good things this year.”
Pestano played a lot of roles — quarterback, running back, receiver — on the scout team last fall. The season off gave him time to hunker down in the weight room and bulk up from 165 pounds to 190 pounds.
“When spring (practice) started, I was fourth on the depth chart,” Pestano said. “I had a couple big plays. Other guys were making big plays, too, but I was consistent. Coach kept moving me up the ladder.
“I knew I wasn’t ready for it last year. Now, my mind’s right, and my body’s ready. We’ll see what happens.”
Terrell Allen, once again, seems to be having some injury issues.
