For the first time in the better part of a decade, Colorado knows not who its go-to guy is at the running back position. The days of Phil Lindsay and Travon McMillian are long gone, and now the Buffs will roll into the season opener vs. Colorado State on Aug. 30 with four guys likely to see carries: redshirt sophomore Alex Fontenot, redshirt freshmen Deion Smith and Jarek Broussard and true freshman Jaren Mangham.
So what's the plan of attack for the Buffs? Will one guy ultimately emerge as the No. 1 guy or will Colorado utilize something of a rotation in the backfield, with multiple guys splitting carries?
Three things we've learned:
1. — The ultimate answer to this question will take at least a few weeks to play out, perhaps even until the aftermath of the CSU game.
Perhaps offensive coordinator Jay Johnson put it best today when talking about the Buffs' options.
"“I don’t know," he said. "It’s a challenging question. I’ve been involved with [a situation] like that in the past and as you know, some guys get hot after they get going and when you’re in constant rotation, that’s a challenge...I think as we continue to go this week, some things will continue to reveal themselves."
As of right now, it looks like no one has emerged just yet as the No. 1 guy. Reps are still being split among the candidates and all four of them have at different points this August earned praise from Mel Tucker.
Johnson seems to believe that in games, going with a split-reps system could potentially negate an individual's ability to really showcase their full skill set. Rest assured, if one guy "get[s] hot" in the CSU game, expect them to earn themselves priority for more carries, at least in the short term.
2. — The tailbacks themselves are open to a committee approach
Smith told me yesterday that coach Hagan seems to favor the committee approach, specifically in order to get as many guys as possible ready to be called upon.
"As coach Hagan says, he doesn’t want [the run game] to be solely dependent on one guy," Smith said. :He wants us to be more of a committee and he wants us to all grow together. You see the guys we have in our room. Everybody can make plays. If you can keep fresh legs during the game at all times, as a defense, how can they stop that? Pretty sure it’s going to be a rotation."
Maybe another way to look at it is that while one guy may very well end up taking the reins in the backfield at some point this season, the road to getting there is one that features a multi-running back system into the regular season that fosters in-game competition.
3. — Colorado's running backs are getting ready to be used regularly in the passing game.
Smith said yesterday that the Buffs "just started" using the RBs on the line of scrimmage as WRs. Mangham elaborated today.
"Our running backs can be utilized in a lot of different positions, whether it's [as] a slot back, getting out into the empty," Mangham said. "We're just showing overall that we aren't normal RBs that only run the ball. We can all catch, we all have really good hands and we're showing what we can do outside of the backfield."
This will be interesting to keep an eye on. While there's been much talking about tight ends entering the offensive picture for the Buffs, how the RBs factor into Johnson's offense in pass-catching situations is something that's not been discussed much.
In the coming weeks, as those plays begin to be called with more frequency during practice, we'll be looking for more specific clues from Johnson and Tucker as to what to expect of the tailbacks running routes.
