Print  email 

Youthful backs on the run

Pac-10 Football: Trio of impressive freshmen take different paths to starting backfield

TODD MILLES; The News Tribune | • Published November 05, 2009

• Comments (0)

UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel has been in so many teenagers' living rooms, he has quit counting.

Nor does he care to tally the number of times he’s heard the same message from standout high school players in every corner of the country.

“All kids believe they’re ready to play,” Neuheisel said. “You want them that way.”

Not all are, of course. But it seems in the Pacific-10 Conference coaches are loosening their criteria on how a depth chart plays out, especially in the skill positions that require a good number of touches of the football.

The stock of capable freshmen quarterbacks in the conference has been well-publicized in 2009. Matt Barkley is a legitimate national newcomer of the year candidate at Southern California. Stanford’s Andrew Luck is a star in the making. And UCLA expects big things from Kevin Prince, now and in the future.

Overshadowed, perhaps, is the same young talent at running back – enough to lead some teams in rushing.

Since 2005, six different Pac-10 schools have been led in rushing for a season by a freshman. Three of them – Oregon’s LaMichael James, Washington’s Chris Polk and UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin – have emerged this season.

“There’s been a nice surge of talent on the West Coast at the running back position, for whatever reason,” UW coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I think teams are more willing to play younger guys and not be so afraid, like ‘I’ve got to play the veteran, and my young guys will earn their time.’ And I think they’re good players. These guys are just playing well.”

Polk and Franklin will lead their respective offenses in a matchup Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

But for different reasons.

In Franklin’s case, it was out of necessity. UCLA junior Christian Ramirez was the clear-cut favorite to start out of spring camp in April. Nagging hamstring and ankle injuries forced Ramirez out of action during the preseason, opening the door for a group of tailbacks who had never played in college.

“When you’re in the process of putting a program together, unfortunately sometimes you have to play players maybe before they’re ready to play,” Neuheisel said. “So you have to be a little more patient.”

Franklin’s consistency in practice helped push him up the depth chart. And in the final fall scrimmage, he rushed for a team-high 99 yards, including a long touchdown.

And when that carried over into the regular season – Franklin had an 119-yard outing in a win over Kansas State – the job became his.

“Man, I just worked hard, from spring to fall camp, and proved I can be that guy by being confident and being humble,” Franklin said. “For coaches to pay attention to you, you have to develop that trust. I’ve felt like I’ve had to do more in practice (than the returners) ... but I came ready every day to work, regardless if it was with the third string or fourth string offense.”

James’ opportunity also came out of nowhere when LeGarrette Blount was suspended for punching Boise State’s Byron Hout after the Ducks’ season-opening loss to the Broncos.

And the talented James, who like Franklin and Polk is a redshirt freshman, has taken full advantage.

He has posted five 100-yard rushing games, including a career-high 183 yards in Oregon’s 47-20 victory last week over USC. James is third in the Pac-10 in rushing, and some consider him a darkhorse Heisman Trophy entrant.

“I thought he was going to be a really good player. Did I think he would run for 180-something against USC? I would be lying if I said that,” Ducks coach Chip Kelly said. “I thought he was really going to be a special, special talent. We were fortunate enough to redshirt him last year because we had two really good running backs (Jeremiah Johnson and Blount) ... but I saw him rip up our scout team, and do an unbelievable job. We thought he was going to be special.”

Then there are the guys such as Polk, or even Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers from 2008, who force the hands of their coaches to play them.

Mike Riley, the Oregon State coach, said his program is a “big redshirt school.” But after Rodgers entered the program, he immediately earned shared repetitions with the No. 1 offense. And it progressed from there, until eventually he won the starting job.

Rodgers became the first freshman to win Pac-10 offensive player of the year honors last season.

“It was based on his production from high school, and then really his aptitude in camp, which was outstanding,” Riley said. “There are guys like him in fall camps that you say, ‘We better not do this (redshirt him) with this guy.’ He was ready to go.”

Experience and veteran leadership are a must for every program. But coaches don’t always base playing-time decisions on how long a player has been around.

“I think a freshman has to show a little bit more, to his coaches, to his teammates and to himself, and do the extra stuff,” said Steve Broussard, the running backs coach at Washington State. “Talent is talent. If a kid has it ... and shows he can handle it mentally, he should be given the opportunity to play right away.”

Extra points

Again, UW quarterback Jake Locker (deep thigh bruise) took the majority of the snaps with the first-string offense at practice Wednesday. Today is the real test, though, said his coach. “I’m hoping he just responds really well today, and he’s able to really run around,” Sarkisian said. “We haven’t asked him to do that yet.” ... Linebacker E.J. Savannah (broken hand) has been ruled out of Saturday’s game. Cort Dennison will make his second career start in his place. ...

Defensive tackle Cameron Elisara (neck stinger) continues to wear the protective red jersey and did not practice. In fact, he has not participated in contact drills in nearly three weeks. He’s very questionable for the UCLA game. The Huskies have played Daniel Te’o-Nesheim inside this week, a shift from his defensive end position, and rotated a bevy of younger defensive ends in on both sides of the line. ... Kickoff for the Oregon State game in Corvallis, Ore., on Nov. 14 has been set for 12:30 p.m.

Todd Milles: 253-597-8442

todd.milles@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports