Boulder – Darian Hagan stopped short of grabbing a megaphone and putting out an all-points bulletin this week. But the Colorado running backs coach did alert his players that the “running back by committee” experiment is over.
He wants somebody to step up and become the primary ballcarrier.
“The guy who practices the hardest, who is running the hardest, who is blocking in the passing game, he is going to be the guy,” Hagan said. “We’ve been ‘player friendly’ and giving a lot of guys reps. But I know if I was a tailback, I’d want the ball all the time to get into a rhythm.”
The team’s offensive coaches met this week and determined that the team needs to ride the back of a featured runner.
“Sometimes it’s like a good band; when you get a good bass player, everybody plays better,” head coach Dan Hawkins said.
Colorado (1-2) has one more opportunity to develop some confidence in the running game before the Big 12 Conference schedule begins next week with Oklahoma. Look for the Buffaloes to run early and often Saturday afternoon against Miami (Ohio) at Folsom Field.
Hagan, an all-conference quarterback in CU’s 1990 national championship season, said he is “embarrassed” by the team’s rushing statistics. Among the 119 major-college teams, CU ranks 116th in rushing with 44.7 yards per game.
“I told the guys that they need to take pride in wearing the CU helmet,” Hagan said. “It’s all about having the right attitude. In 1990, the buffalo ran out and then we swaggered out. We didn’t care who we were playing. We knew we were going to win the game.”
Through three games, the Buffs are averaging 1.7 yards per carry. The Big 12’s next-worst rushing team, Baylor, averages 2.5 yards. Against Arizona State and Florida State in its past two games, CU combined for a net 5 yards rushing on 51 attempts. Yes, 5 yards.
NCAA team-rushing statistics include quarterback sacks and yards lost after fumble recoveries. But a closer inspection of CU’s individual tailbacks confirms the struggles.
For the past two games, redshirt freshman Demetrius Sumler has netted 48 yards on 24 carries (2.0 average). Seniors Hugh Charles and Byron Ellis and true freshman Brian Lockridge combined for 11 net yards on 10 carries against Arizona State and Florida State.
With Charles fighting a hamstring injury and Lockridge trying to keep his redshirt, Sumler has taken the bulk of the carries.
“We’ve got to do better. We can do better,” said Lockridge, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound Californian who made his debut last week against Florida State.
There appears to be enough blame to be spread around.
“We’ve had a few (bad) plays where it was the offensive line’s mistakes, a few plays where it was the tailback, a few plays where the receiver didn’t make a block,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said.
Players and coaches say recent practices have been encouraging. Hagan told the tailbacks they can’t allow one tackler to stop them. Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes wants his blockers to start knocking people off the line of scrimmage.
“We’ve been obviously really emphasizing the running game this week,” senior offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus said. “We’ve got to get 4 yards a pop, every time. We have to surge off the ball. This game is important to show we can do that.”
CU’s top tailbacks
Demetrius Sumler, 5-feet-10, 215 pounds, redshirt freshman, 133 yards on 40 carries
Has the most carries, but not yet considered a featured back by CU coaches. Possesses a nice blend of strength and open-field instincts, but coaches say he ran tentatively against Arizona State and Florida State after making an impressive debut with 85 yards against CSU.
Hugh Charles, 5-8, 190, senior, 9 yards on four carries
Got his first carries last week against Florida State after getting hurt in first series of opener against CSU. Experienced (1,670 career yards) with a 400-pound bench press and sprinter’s speed, but was chewed out by coaches after running out of bounds on a play against FSU.
Brian Lockridge, 5-7, 180, true freshman, 2 yards on four carries
Discarded the redshirt and made his debut against FSU. Called an “Energizer Bunny” by the team for his perpetual intensity. Although not a sprinter like Charles, Lockridge “plays the fastest to the hole,” coaches say. Whether he could take the pounding associated with a featured back remains to be seen.
The lowdown
COLORADO (1-2)
Player to watch | WR Josh Smith
The 6-foot, 180-pound freshman speedster made his debut last week against Florida State and beat a Seminoles track star down the sideline for a 38-yard catch. Smith could be in for a huge game Saturday.
Key for the Buffaloes | Run, already
Get the ground game going to take some pressure off quarterback Cody Hawkins. He passed for 306 yards against a Florida State defense that didn’t concern itself with the run. That won’t work every week.
MIAMI (OHIO) (1-2)
Player to watch | QB Daniel Raudabaugh
A 6-4, 214-pound Texan, he has been promoted to the starting lineup after throwing for 240 yards last week in a 47-10 loss to Cincinnati. RedHawks coaches hope the sophomore displays the same magic of a former Miami quarterback with a long last name starting with the letter R: Ben Roethlisberger.
Key for the RedHawks | Pass protection
The RedHawks already have yielded eight sacks, and CU has middle linebacker Michael Sipili and defensive lineman Chris Perri back after serving three-game suspensions.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
