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Midway through the 2014 season, Rutgers‘ offensive backfield took a hit when junior Paul James sustained a torn ACL in the Scarlet Knights’ game against Navy. Until that point, James had rushed for 363 yards and five touchdowns, his biggest performance coming against the season opener at Washington State (173 yards on 29 carries and three scores). Head coach Kyle Flood needed a new running back to emerge quickly.
Sophomore Desmon Peoples was the first, but he struggled down the stretch, amassing a mere 245 yards and three touchdowns over the course of five games. Following that, the freshman tandem of Josh Hicks and Robert Martin took over and Rutgers never looked back. The two combined for 197 yards and four touchdowns in Rutgers’ last home game against Indiana, and an impressive 302 yards and three touchdowns in the Quick Lane Bowl victory against North Carolina (202 of them coming from Hicks).
James is expected to be fully recovered going into 2015. Consequently, Flood has a decision to make regarding who will get the majority of the touches. If Peoples can right the ship, Flood has four backs to choose from.
Seniority aside, the starter should be James, without question. James is a balanced runner and has excellent field vision. He has a good combination of speed and power, and has the ability to get yards after contact. In addition to his running ability, he is a great pass blocker, and Rutgers needs all the blocking it can get for Gary Nova‘s replacement. His experience will definitely be a plus since Rutgers only returns one starter from last season (Keith Lumpkin) to the offensive line.
As for Hicks and Martin, they should have roles in the offense as well. Hicks is a classic speed back. He has great quickness and field vision, and can get to the second level in a hurry. His patience gives him the ability to set up his blocks downfield, and can occasionally get a few yards after contact. Conversely, Martin is a short-yardage back. He lacks quickness, but he makes up for it with power.
His ball security is an added bonus, which is an absolute must for any back, but especially a power back. The only drawback with him is that he tends to dance around in the gaps, giving the defensive front time to react.
Until Peoples can work his way back up the depth chart, Rutgers should have James be the primary back, and rotate Hicks in on first and second down in case James needs a breather. On third down or short-yardage situations, the team should bring in Martin to grind out the yards necessary for a crucial third down conversion or a touchdown instead of having to settle for a field goal.
If Rutgers can master this method, it’ll have a balanced rushing attack for 2015.
Brooks Hooley is a Junior Big Ten Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brookshooley.
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