Last week, Karl Dorrell was breaking down what he envisioned the Buffs' run game would look like in 2020, in terms of personnel and volume of responsibilities.
He went on to say that in the past, he had been used to having a No. 1 tailback who handled 70-80% of the load and then a 'hot hand' No. 2 back that would serve as primary backup.
In 2019, Alex Fontenot took about 58% of the team's handoffs (not counting jet sweeps by Laviska Shenault or rushes/scrambles by Steven Montez) while Jaren Mangham, as a true freshman, took about 24% of the carries.
There has not been any reason to suspect Fontenot, now a junior and the room's oldest player, is in any threatening situation to lose his role as the starter who gets "the biggest piece of the pie" to quote Dorrell.
Position coach Darian Hagan similarly sees no reason why Fontenot can't build off his 874 yards and 4.72 yards per carry he produced in 2019, his first year as a full-time starter.
"He’s a wily veteran, he knows exactly what to do in every situation and he’s a special talent," he said of Fontenot.
For Colorado, the pressing run game question remains who will establish themselves as the second man in line behind Fontenot.
Hagan mentioned on Wednesday that in an event of Colorado running up the score on an opponent, he'll not be opposed to a full revolving door at tailback, in which as many guys as possible can get in for reps.
However, in closer game, the rotation will be smaller.
"If the game is tight, you probably rotate three guys — I’m comfortable with everybody playing, it’s just that some guys will be hot and you don’t want to pull that guy out just to get a rotation and put a guy in," Hagan said. "I would say at the max, three, but if we’re rolling I want to get them all in.”
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Mangham's credentials need no introduction. He was effective last year as a true freshman, rushing for 441 yards and a healthy 4.12 yards per carry average.
However, fellow sophomore Jarek Broussard has appeared to be creeping right behind him in terms of a guy fighting for regular carries behind Fontenot.
“I can tell you this: Broussard has come a long way," Hagan said. "In the past, he wasn’t very in-tuned, so he was kind of like a Venus fly trap. He was out there and just out there. But he’s paying with a lot of confidence, he knows exactly what he’s doing and he brings a different element to the game. He’s really, really a jitterbug."
"He’s a guy that can take it to the house, make guys miss in the open field — that’s the guy that we’ve been missing. We’ve been missing a back like that. Last time we had a back like that was Rodney Stewart, comparable to speed. I like what he does.”
Putting Broussard in the same boat as Stewart, who ranks third all-time in CU history in rushing yards, is undoubtedly solid praise.
At this point, approaching a week away from the Nov. 7 season opener vs. UCLA, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine the Buffs' offensive backfield being a rotation between Fontenot, Mangham and Broussard.
That said, with both Dorrell and Hagan placing weight on guys getting 'hot' behind Fontenot, how Mangham and Broussard fare against the Bruins could have significant implications as early as week two and moving into the meat of the 2020 schedule.
For those two, every play is going to count towards convincing coaches that they are the right man to backup Fontenot.
More from Colorado tailbacks coach Darian Hagan below:
Hagan on true freshman Ashaad Clayton:
“Ashaad is a big back and everything he does in the run game and the pass game is just natural. I tell him: ‘I’m going to line you up, get you started and then I’m going to abc off. You go out there and be creative.’ That’s what he does — he’s really special.”
Hagan on blueshirt freshman and Cherry Creek alum Jayle Stacks:
"Jayle Stacks has done some really good things for us. Jayle is a guy that’s a bowling ball back there. We haven’t really had a big, functional running back here in a long time. He’s a guy that brings power, he’s a guy that makes guys want to get out of the wya. Guys don’t want to tackle him.”
Hagan on his RBs room in general:
“I’d say this group, right now, is not the best group that I’ve coached. I would say give us a year — I would say a year from now, this group has the potential to be the best I’ve ever coached. I think every last one of them has the opportunity to do some really, really nice things.”
