By William Qualkinbush.
By William Qualkinbush.
By William Qualkinbush.
By William Qualkinbush.
Over the next few days, we will do a position-by-position analysis of Clemson football on the blog, complete with statistical analysis, depth chart news, and projections for the upcoming season. Today, we continue our preview of the offense by looking at the running back position…
Raise your hand if you had Rod McDowell penciled in as a 1,000-yard rusher in August of last year. Seeing no hands, we can now move on to 2014.
The fact is that McDowell outperformed expectations with his senior campaign in Chad Morris’ backfield. He rushed for 1,025 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry, all the while saving his best performances for the biggest games on the schedule. He turned a by-committee situation into a feature back scenario with his performance.
Fast forward a year and the story is playing out similarly in 2014. There are multiple candidates vying for playing time in the backfield, and each one brings a specific skill set to the table. No one looks like a feature back—yet—and many of the candidates lost out to McDowell in last year’s competition.
Heading into August camp, the top back on the depth chart was senior D.J. Howard. Most people assumed he was a placeholder for one of several younger, allegedly more talented backs. But we are now two weeks into camp, and here sits Howard, still rocking it at the top of the chart.
Howard carried the ball 57 times last season, which trailed only McDowell and Tajh Boyd among all Tigers. His average of 3.7 yards per carry trailed the team average of 4.19, which has rightly given many observers pause about his ability to handle an increased workload in a productive backfield. It was the second straight season Howard failed to crack the 4.0 YPC mark after rolling out as a freshman in 2011 with a career-best 5.61 average.
Junior Zac Brooks actually had more rushing yardage than Howard last year, coming in with 246 yards on 48 carries. He gained more than five yards a clip and has been described by running backs coach Tony Elliott as the most complete back in the mix. He is the best in the group at catching passes out of the backfield, but oddly enough, he only caught six balls last year, placing him behind Howard’s eight for top honors among the backup tailbacks.
If starting spots were given out based on talent alone, Brooks would be the choice here. He can make every play with the ball in his hands and has improved his pass-blocking. Both he and Howard have had problems staying healthy, so the struggle to stay on the field should be worth watching for both players.
Former track athlete C.J. Davidson has carved out a spot in the rotation, although he is currently—even by his own admission—third in the pecking order. Elliott says Davidson has the ability to make something out of nothing between the tackles better than his peers. To his credit, Davidson has lived outside the preconceived notions associated with a runner playing football. He is tough and slippery on inside runs, and the junior should see an uptick in action from 2013, when he toted the rock 34 times and averaged about 4.5 yards per carry.
Redshirt freshman Wayne Gallman is a wild card in the mix. Gallman is universally regarded as a violent runner with a knack for creating big collisions. He is a fan favorite that has shown toughness and grit, but injuries have set him back a bit. Morris has said more than once this spring that Gallman needs to think slower while playing faster, and his inability to efficiently process information on the go has pushed him behind the others on this list.
The other back that might work his way into the mix is true freshman Adam Choice. The Georgia native enrolled early and made some strides during spring ball. The plan appears to be to redshirt Choice, which makes sense considering the depth available at the moment.
One thing no one really knows is the extent to which the quarterback will have a role in the running game. Boyd ran the ball 154 times last season, which seems a bit high when translating it to Cole Stoudt. Boyd was THE short-yardage option for the Tigers, a task that will likely fall to a back like Howard or Davidson this season. Stoudt’s carries will probably be primarily on the perimeter when keeping on the zone read or by scrambling on designed passing plays.
The three backs in the mix who played last season—Howard, Brooks, and Davidson—averaged 4.4 yards per carry as a group. That seems a little low when you consider the increase in high-probability touches they will collectively see this season. Given Stoudt’s role as a perimeter runner, however, there will be more short-yardage carries for the group as well.
The result will probably be a running game that feels similar to last year. If this group averages 4.5 yards per carry, Morris will probably be pleased, especially given the extent to which this offense will rely on being multiple on the ground in 2014.
God Bless!
WQ