Indiana University Athletics
A Herd of Hoosiers in the Running Game
8/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2006
For the Indiana University football team, youthful enthusiasm is the best way to describe the Hoosiers talented running back corps. The graduations of running backs Chris Taylor and Yamar Washington, who combined for over 1,100 yards of the Hoosiers' offense last year, left a starting spot open for any number of players to step into. Four running backs, sophomore Marcus Thigpen and redshirt freshmen Demetrius McCray, Bryan Payton and Justin Carrington, will be vying for playing time at IU in 2006.
The most experienced returning player is Thigpen, who starts the year atop the depth chart. He moves from wide receiver to running back this year after gaining 432 yards on 32 receptions in 2005, which included two touchdowns. Although Hoosier fans may see running back as a new job for the Detroit native, he sees it as a return to a familiar slot.
"I've been a running back since I was eight. I feel like I'm back at home now," Thigpen said. "Receiver was hard for me. It's been a real good change."
For Thigpen, the biggest difference between the two positions is that he has more involvement with protecting the quarterback than he did as a receiver.
"All the running is still the same," Thighpen said. He is one of the fastest guys on the team, and it is his speed that is expected to help him stand out from the rest. As a member of the Hoosiers track team last year, he placed in the top seven in the Big Ten in the 60, 200 and 100 meters.
For McCray, Payton and Carrington, they are also working hard in the preseason to make themselves stand out in practice. Each of them are hoping to earn their opportunity though hard work and building off what they learned during their redshirt year.
Payton wants to be seen as a workhorse. In addition to his redshirt year, the Fort Wayne native also has a year of prep school at Fork Union Military Academy under his belt, which has a solid reputation for producing NFL players.
"I see myself as the guy who's going to get in there, not be tackled, refuse to lose and give everything I've got," Payton said.
McCray has also been noted for his speed.
"I aim to make people miss. It's what I'm looking to bring to the team," the Brandon, Fla. native said.
At 6-0, 204 lbs., Carrington has showed that he has the potential to be a power back, complementing the speed of his teammates. However, he wants to show that he can be more than that.
"I'm trying to show that I'm more than power. I might not be lightning quick (like Demetrious and Marcus), but I have speed. I play wherever they need me right now. If I'm on the field, they're going to get everything I've got," Carrington said.
Although Taylor and Washington are gone, their legacies will live on in McCray, Payton and Carrington, who watched the seniors from the sidelines last season.
"You learn a lot from watching the other running backs (from last year)," McCray said. "The biggest thing I learned was that you need to keep your composure while you're in the game, in the huddle, or in practice. Not to panic in a situation."
Carrington's biggest lesson was that you have to work hard to get where you want to be.
"Nothing comes easy. Nothing comes easy at all. You have to work your butt off. Even when you're working, you've got to work hard. Even when you're working hard, you've got to work harder," he said.
For Payton, his lessons came on and off the field.
"Time management is the biggest thing. You don't have people watching over you. I think it's even bigger being a football player, knowing to be places on time, having time to write papers and still having time to study a playbook. On the field, Coach (Joe) Brown and Coach Hep instilled a toughness in me and the rest of us, trying to make us better players," Payton said.
All four players have expressed the determination to earn the playing time that every collegiate athlete craves, creating what could potentially become a tough decision for the coaches in determining who gets that coveted starting spot.
"I've just got to keep working hard, come out here and do what I need to every day. No one has a starting spot yet, I'm just working hard for it," Thigpen said.
