Running back rundown: Injuries weigh on carousel of carriers
Illinois junior Martez Walker tries to escape from three Buffalo players on Oct. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Coming out of the spring, Central Michigan Head Football Coach John Bonamego said he thought the running back position was the deepest position on the team. Eight games in, the Chippewas have needed every bit of that depth.
With Thomas Rawls graduating and going to play for the Seattle Seahawks, CMU was left with nearly a dozen running backs and fullbacks with limited experience.
After losing multiple players over the spring, the coaching staff added one more to the stable with junior college transfer Jahray Hayes.
“The spring was crazy as far as my running back room,” said Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Gino Guidugli. “With Saylor Lavallii being medically disqualified, Maurice (Shoemaker-Gilmore) transferring and then losing (Jerrod) Davis on the last play of spring football, (it) kind of took a toll on my depth in my room.”
The fall hasn’t been any kinder to Chippewa running backs. Multiple injuries have left the team relying on five runners to eat up carries.
“I know it sounds cliché and it is, but it really is ‘next man up,’” Bonamego said. “I think the only thing that should separate your starter from your backup is really experience.”
The rushing attack has slowly become more viable each week, but still ranks last in the Mid-American Conference with 104.4 rushing yards per game.
Here’s the status of the carousel of carriers that make up the 2015 CMU running backs unit.
Sophomore Devon Spalding
The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Spalding is known for racking up yards with his speed.
After a slow first two games of the season, the Westland native took over as the lead back against Syracuse, with 21 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown on top of his 10 receptions for 102 yards.
He followed it up with another solid showing at Michigan State. But in his first carry against Northern Illinois, Spalding suffered a season-ending fractured clavicle.
“I’m devastated for him,” Guidugli said. “He was just starting to get going. He’s a kid that put so much into it and is so committed and just works so hard that you just want that success for him so bad.”
Without Spalding, the Chippewa coaching staff decided to see what they had in Jahray Hayes.
Junior Jahray Hayes
Hayes, who didn’t become a Chippewa until June, came into the season as one of the biggest wild cards of the group.
With injuries mounting, the coaching staff decided to add another runner. Hayes had the most rushing touchdowns in the California Community College Athletic Association last season with the City College of San Francisco with 21 scores on 212 attempts and 1,016 yards.
“(Offensive Line) Coach (Derek) Frazier just contacted one day,” Hayes said. “He was like, ‘We’ve been watching you, just letting you know.’ A couple days later, I got a call from Coach (Guidugli), and him and Coach Bono offered me (a spot).”
Frazier said the process to adding Hayes was quick, lasting only about two weeks. Guidugli said he liked Hayes because of his physical, downhill running style.
(He’s) just a guy who jumped off the film at you,” Guidugli said. “He was kind of a different back from what we had in the room, being 6-foot-1, 220 pounds.”
Hayes got his first shot against Monmouth Sept. 12, with seven carries and 32 yards. His best game of the season was Oct. 3 against Northern Illinois, where he had 29 carries, 78 yards and a score.
“He’s a big son-of-a-gun that’s very kind of quiet, but becomes one of those guys who watches and learns and takes everything in,” Frazier said. “In recruiting, there’s no hidden gems out there. We were the lucky ones to get Jahray.”
He had limited carries against Western Michigan after a fumble, and hasn’t played since he slammed his finger in a door a few days after the game. Bonamego said Hayes fractured the tip of his finger and needed his fingernail stitched back on.
“He practiced with it (before the Buffalo game),” Bonamego said. “We just felt like it was probably smarter just to keep him out, mainly for ball security reasons and let that thing calm down a little bit.”
Hayes traveled to Muncie, Indiana this weekend, but didn’t play against Ball State either, handing the starting duties back to Martez Walker.
Junior Martez Walker
Walker, who describes himself as a “scatback” with some “wiggle” to him, was tweaked up in the season-opener against Oklahoma State. Along with Spalding, Walker was one of the backs to get playing time when Rawls couldn’t be on the field last season.
He didn’t carry the ball more than 12 times in a game this season until Oct. 17 against Buffalo. Walker said the running backs try to make each other better, instead of looking at it as a competition. Still, results breed more playing time.
“Whoever’s the hot guy, that’s who (Guidugli’s) going to go with,” Walker said. “And everybody knows that. Whoever gets it going first or often is going to be the guy getting most of the carries.”
Without Spalding or Hayes against Buffalo, Walker burst back onto the scene with 20 carries for 60 yards. He followed it up Saturday, with 19 carries for 86 yards and four catches for 52 yards.
“(Martez showed) how tough of a guy he is,” said junior quarterback Cooper Rush after the 23-21 win over Ball State. “He stepped up, played unbelievable. The play of the game was probably that (third-and-18) on the screen play and gets the first down.”
The Cardinals had just regained a fourth-quarter lead after an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. An incomplete pass and a sack pinned the Chippewas back, and when Rush couldn’t find any open receivers, he dumped it to Walker — who would dodge defenders to scoot for the momentous first down play.
Junior kicker Brian Eavey ended up kicking the game-winning field goal later on the drive.
Walker might not have been on the field on the third-and-long play if it weren’t for an early fumble on a strong run from Jay Roberson.
Sophomore Jay Roberson
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Belleville native has 15 carries for 50 yards this season, but hadn’t had a breakout run until Saturday.
After a rumbling 19-yard carry, the defense stripped Roberson of the ball, leading to a Cardinal score and a first-half momentum shift. Roberson wouldn’t see time the rest of the day.
Roberson and Walker are the only two backs to have carries in at least seven games this season, but Roberson’s lack of burst allowed playing time to a be given to a freshman runner, Romello Ross.
True freshman Romello Ross
Bonamego said the team wanted to redshirt Romello Ross this season, but ran out of options and decided to utilize him against Buffalo. He said the true freshman’s positives are his quickness and strength, with his running style being a cross between Walker and Hayes.
“For us to use a redshirt, we felt like if we were going to do that, it would be a conscious decision, not a knee-jerk reaction,” Bonamego said. “We’ll work him in on special teams, as well. We’ve got to make sure that we play him, now that we’ve used that year.”
Ross had 13 carries for 54 yards against Buffalo, most of which coming in the fourth quarter. He carried the ball four times for 13 yards Saturday.
“Seeing him during camp this summer, I thought he was a really good runner,” said senior defensive end Blake Serpa. “I think he’s a really hard runner, kind of prototypical of a lot of people that run here.”
Rush said the 5-foot-10, 189-pound back could be the future for the Chippewa backfield.
“He’s inexperienced and young, but he’s got a bright future,” Rush said. “I think he’s a natural runner, he’s kind of got that natural ability that comes easy to him and he’s only going to get better and better.”
