Texas A&M’s running back room looks set up for rotation rather than domination, and that was the takeaway from Gigem 247’s Jeff Tarpley when he joined Glenn “Stretch” Smith on The Afternoon Stretch on ESPN Central Texas out of Waco.
Asked by Smith, "What did you get out of the running backs and what did they look like in the pre-season?" Tarpley painted a picture of a group that may not feature one all-purpose workhorse, but does have enough pieces to keep the Aggies moving.
"It looks like that the running backs are going to be a group by committee this season. They've got guys who may not be everything you want in a running back, and they may not have everything you want in a running back.
There may not necessarily be a guy who's a bell cow that you can build everything around, but you're going to have guys that can go in and can function from anywhere between, let's say, five to 15 handoffs a game and anywhere between 10 to…let's say, 35 snaps a game. Again, one of them is not going to be able to do everything, but they're going to be able to do enough well that you can get through a football game with them all playing meaningful roles."
That depth matters because Texas A&M will be without Tiger Riden, the second-year back from DeSoto who Tarpley said likely would have brought some power to the group. In his place, the Aggies have a mix of styles to work with.
If the staff wants explosiveness, there’s freshman KJ Edwards. If patience and a more measured approach are the priority, Jamarion Morrow fits that mold. Tarpley described the second-year Tennessee product this way: "he is someone that he will wait for his blocks to develop, then he'll turn up field and he can run with some balance, he'll run with some toughness, and he's got a little bit of a burst to his game."
Rueben Owens brings the veteran presence. Tarpley said Owens may be a little better in pass protection than he has been before, and that he’s likely to be more effective bouncing runs outside than grinding between the tackles. He also pointed out that Owens can be a factor as a receiver.
Tarpley’s bottom line was that the Aggies can use this backfield much the way they did a year ago, only with more options available after Le'Veon Moss went down. The key, he said, is using the backs situationally to squeeze the most out of the running game.
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