BOULDER — When Colorado released its updated depth chart before its season opener at Hawaii last week, Christian Powell was listed as the No. 1 tailback and Michael Adkins II was listed third.
Powell fumbled during the first half and had only five carries in CU’s 28-20 loss. Adkins led the Buffaloes in rushing with 90 yards on 22 carries, an encouraging start for the junior who missed the final two games of 2014 because of arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
“It was good to get back out on the field,” said Adkins, who ran for 398 yards a season ago. “The line blocked well, gave me some opportunities. Just took advantage of the opportunities I had.”
There was no contact on the play early in the Arizona game last year when Adkins was injured. He took a swing pass, cut upfield and was finished for the season.
“Just a real freak accident,” Adkins said. “The knee is doing good, it’s great. Did a lot of work in the offseason to prepare myself, to get it back to where I wanted it to be.”
Adkins was held out of contact in spring practice while he continued to rehab after the surgery. Powell started the Hawaii game but Adkins got rolling early, scoring two touchdowns in the first half. Quarterback with 81 yards, mostly on scrambles when he was flushed out of the pocket. Powell finished with 9 yards. Phillip Lindsay added 35 on eight carries.
“Michael ran really well,” said head coach Mike Mac- Intyre. “He was hampered during preseason a little bit with an (injured) ankle. He’s extremely fast — he’s a 10.7, 10.8 100-meter young man. He’s put on about 8 pounds of body weight from last year, was in low 190s, now high 190s. He’s a powerful runner but also has speed and ability to pull away from people.”
Running backs coach Klayton Adams said Adkins got the bulk of the carries at Hawaii because he got on a roll, not because Powell fumbled.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Adams said. “He got hot, he was running hard. He did a nice job of running with his pads down, which is something he worked on this offseason. I’m excited to see where we go from here with the group. I’d love to see him continue that pace for 13 or 14 straight games.”
That doesn’t mean the running back rotation is set, just that Adkins made the most of his opportunity in Week 1. It could change Saturday when CU opens its home schedule against Massachusetts. , and only Tony Jones graduated from that group.
“When a guy goes in there and he starts doing well, you want to keep giving him the football,” Adams said. “In order for one guy to be able to do that week to week, he’s got to play well week to week. That’s what we’re focusing on now. Each one of those guys knows the carries are (there) for who’s going to do the best things with them. We need productivity out of that position.”
Powell, a senior, is more of a power runner at 6 feet, 235 pounds. Adkins, at 5-10, is more of a speedster.
“As long as he stays healthy, he’s a good player,” MacIntyre said of Adkins. “He’s had a hard time staying healthy. If he stays healthy, he can really run.”
Because Adkins is heavier and stronger this year, Adams believes he can cut down on the “dinged-up” injuries that have hampered him.
“That’s been one of my major disrupters as far as my progress,” said Adkins, a finance major who fancies himself as a CEO someday. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason to limit some of that stuff. This year, God willing, I’ll stay injury free. If I can do that, the sky’s the limit, to be able to propel myself to doing some big things.”
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
Adkins file
A closer look at colorado running back Michael Adkins II
– Led the Buffs in rushing in season opener with 90 yards
– Saw action in 10 games a year ago, rushing for 398 yards and a 4.91 average
– Best games in 2014 were 109 yards on 13 carries vs. Washington and 107 yards on 17 carries vs. UCLA
– Earned honorable mention freshman All-America honors, rushing for 535 yards
– Set CU record for a freshman with four rushing touchdowns in a game (Charleston Southern)
Source: University of Colorado
