Running backs coach Keith Bhonapha says Lavon Coleman doing less dancing, more running

Here is a Q-and-A with Huskies running backs coach Keith Bhonapha, who talked about Lavon Coleman’s big game against Arizona, Myles Gaskin, and what it’s like to play against Stanford.

(On seeing Lavon Coleman have such a good game) “It was good. One of the things that we’ve known since we’ve been here, Lavon is a big, powerful back who has really decent speed for his size. The one thing that we have constantly challenged him on is getting to the point where he runs vertical and not doing a bunch of dancing, and he was doing that definitely on Saturday, making the guy miss and getting vertical. So it was exciting. Excited to watch him grow as we continue to move through this season.”

(Does that give you a nice problem, having to figure out how to get everyone carries?) “Oh yeah. I think as a coach, you want to have depth, and I think having a guy that you know can come in there and have some snaps for you and actually contribute to the offense and what we’re trying to get done is awesome. And I think for that, Lavon did a good job of coming in there, making a role for himself and actually taking the next step and really going out there and making plays that counted to help the team be successful.”

(Myles Gaskin talked last week about the difference between trying hard and pressing. Do you think he’s pressing?) “Myles is a competitor, and I think the one thing is, he wants to go out there and be successful like any competitor does. To say that he’s necessarily pressing, I wouldn’t say that. I think he does want to go out there and contribute and help the team. I think if he feels, if anybody feels, as a playmaker that they’re not making plays, they’re thinking about, OK, what do I need to do, what do I need to do. If it got to the point where he was truly pressing, I think we would see definitely a digress in his play. I don’t see that. I know people are talking about these long runs that he has to have, but the kid has been productive when he’s had the ball in his hands.”

(On challenges of facing Stanford) “Stanford is a great team. They’re well-coached, they’re physical. Those guys are not going to take plays off. They’re not going to make mistakes. I think the one thing that we have to do is make sure that we execute. But that’s no different than any other week that we play. I think if you think about a team that’s been dominant in this league for the past five years or whatever it’s been, it’s Stanford. So we’ve just got to be ready for the challenge of playing against a great team that’s physical and plays hard.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Running backs coach Keith Bhonapha says Lavon Coleman doing less dancing, more running."