None of the Broncos’ top three healthy tailbacks appears to be a bruiser — none stands taller than 5-foot-11, none weighs more than 215 pounds — but what Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Anthony Alridge lack in sheer size, they make up for in confidence.
It’s the confidence that together they can continue Denver’s tradition of having one of the league’s strongest running games, and, for Young and Hall, especially, the confidence to be the Broncos’ every-down running back.
It’s big talk for three players who are all trying to go from undrafted rookie to starter in two years or less.
“We all have a chip on our shoulder,” said Hall, who went undrafted out of South Florida in 2006 and was cut by Tampa and Chicago before finding a spot on the Broncos’ practice squad in November 2006. “We thank Denver for coming to get us, but at the same time, we’ve got to prove ourselves.”
The Broncos have long proven successful at plugging in previously unknown tailbacks and turning them into stars. Of the seven players who have led the team in rushing since the start of the Terrell Davis era in 1995, one was drafted in the fourth round (Olandis Gary), two in the sixth (Davis and Mike Anderson), and one wasn’t drafted at all.
That one, of course, is Young, who started his first training camp last July buried on the depth chart, but was the starter by Week 10. He finished his rookie year with 729 rushing yards, and was tabbed by coach Mike Shanahan as the starter for 2008 even before Travis Henry was released in early June.
Questions have remained about whether Young’s body can take the pounding of being a No. 1 running back over the course of a full season.
Young has a slim frame, but said he has gained between five and eight pounds of muscle. He is listed at 215 pounds, and said he can feel the results of an offseason spent lifting weights and eating better.
“My legs feel a little stronger, taking off and driving and coming out of my cuts, I feel a little more solid,” Young said. “Hopefully I can stay on my feet more and just be more balanced.”
When rookie Ryan Torain — who at 6-1, 225 pounds was the biggest of the tailback bunch — broke his elbow two weeks ago, coaches began using Hall, sturdy and compact at 5-10 and 212 pounds, as the short-yardage back. Hall pounded in for a 1-yard touchdown against Dallas last week, and is averaging 4.5 yards per carry in the preseason, better than Young’s average of 3.0.
“If they need me for short yards, or whatever, I’m going to do what they need me to do, but I’m not going to limit myself to short yards,” Hall said. “I’m an every-down back. That’s how I feel I can play, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Alridge, 5-9, 185, is the smallest of the three pure tailbacks, but is the quickest, and his unique ability to burst around the edge could help him earn a roster spot. He has become close with Young — a fellow Texas native — who has reminded him just how quickly a player can go from a situational runner to feature back.
“It can be done,” Alridge, who has been slowed for the last week by a sore hamstring, said. “Nothing is impossible if you keep making plays out there.”
Veteran Michael Pittman could be another answer at running back, but he spent most of training camp playing fullback. And with Torain out likely through the end of October, the Broncos might consider adding another running back once teams make their first round of cuts Saturday.
The Packers, the Broncos’ opponent in the third preseason game Friday night at Invesco Field, found their current starter, Ryan Grant, in similar fashion last season. The Packers made a trade with the Giants for Grant, an unknown at the time, on the day teams cut to their 53-man roster.
Don’t expect any extra competition to rattle the current crop of backs, however.
“You’ve just got to work hard and hope you’re that guy — the guy that can be counted on, and not make any mistakes, and take care of your responsibilities on the field,” Young said. “Ultimately it’s up to us to go out and perform, and for the coaches to decide who they want to perform for them.”
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
