If you think it is hard to evaluate quarterbacks when no live tackling is allowed in any of the 15 spring practices, that goes double for the running backs. One of the funniest things to me over my years as as a sportswriter is reading breathless accounts of 60-yard touchdown runs in drills that aren't live. How could anyone possibly know how long the run would have been if tackling were allowed? Lazedrick Thompson comes to mind; when healthy in the spring and preseason, he invariably looked like Tulane's best running back in shorts, but when the games started, he was less effective (though still good) because of his upright running style and propensity for getting hurt.
With that qualifier acknowledged, it is not hard to judge cutting ability, quickness, instincts and receiving skills, and from what I saw in the spring, Texas Tech transfer Corey Dauphine is the best all-around back on the roster. Of course, he can't help the team next fall since he is sitting out his transfer year, but it bodes well for 2018 when Dontrell Hilliard and Sherman Badie are gone. Dauphine is fast, he has good acceleration and he picks out holes well.
Last year, Tulane used a rotation of four running backs, with Hilliard, Badie, Thompson and Josh Rounds all carrying a least nine times against UCF and the coaches usually settling on a hot pair as the games went along. The final breakdown was 135 carries (759 yards) for Hilliard, 125 carries (758 yards) for Rounds, 87 carries (506 yards) for Thompson and 43 carries (169 yards) for Badie, who missed four games with an injury. Rounds and Thompson played in all 12 games, while Hilliard missed the finale against UConn.
I expect a similar rotation in the fall with two new guys, and here's my pecking order based on the spring.
1) Hilliard
Something happened to Hilliard at the end of 2016 when a potential 1,000-yard season dissipated into eight carries for 13 yards against Houston and five carries for 22 yards against Temple before he sat out the last game. Yes, both of those teams had excellent run defenses, but he didn't look right after averaging 5.9 yards per carry with 724 yards through nine games.
He looked right this spring, displaying the quickness and pep in his step he had in the past. He's also an excellent if underutilized receiver--the backs combined for only 19 receptions last season. I see no reason for him to have fewer than 20 catches as a senior, but we'll see. He's not only a check down, outlet target. He can run precise patterns out of the backfield and catch the ball even when it is not thrown well.
2) Darius Bradwell
He's raw after moving to running back from quarterback before the finale a year ago, but Bradwell is the most physical runner on the team and likely won't be easy to bring down when he gets a full head of steam going. Some of his practices were better than others in the spring, but I like the way he runs downhill, reminiscent of Thompson but two inches taller and 10 pounds heavier. He is also heady, so I don't anticipate him having much trouble with the transition. Other than Jonathan Banks, I will be more interested to see what Bradwell can do in September than any offensive player. If he is adept at picking the right hole--again, something that is hard to judge in the spring--he will be a force.
3) Sherman Badie
I've never been sold on him, even after his spectacular 200-yard-plus effort against Tulsa in his Tulane debut back in 2014. Hopefully, he will prove me dead wrong. Hampered by injuries, Badie did not even average 4.0 yards per carry last year while the other three averaged at least 5.6. Where he needs to improve is in picking out holes and making decisive moves. Too often, he hesitates behind the line, waiting and waiting for the crease as if he is the best athlete on the field and then getting thrown for a loss. Even his signature long run against Tulsa came that way, when he sort of meandered in the backfield, made a few guys miss, took off and was gone. Plays like that don't happen against good defenses.
Honestly, I did not notice him much in the spring. He missed some time with an injury, but Willie Fritz praised him heavily, and he knows a thing or two about running backs.
Badie is at his best in open space, using his sprinter's speed to good advantage. The question is whether the offensive line can provide that type of room for him. He's also easily the best of Tulane's running backs as the pitch man on the option, but the question again is whether the QBs can run the option properly and set him up for some big gains. His speed should make him dangerous as a receiver, too, but aside from impressive numbers as a sophomore (27 catches, 10.5-yard average), he's done little in the passing game.
4) Stephon Huderson
I really liked what I heard about Huderson in high school, and he did not disappoint in the spring, showing nice quickness and instincts as the smallest scholarship back on the roster (5-9, 190). His ball security was not as good as the other running backs, though, with safety Roderic Teamer picking on that weakness by continually trying to knock the ball from his grasp in practice and succeeding a few times. My guess is Huderson might be a year away from reaching his potential, and I'm not sure what he adds that the other backs don't provide. He will have to produce early in the year to warrant more carries, just as Rounds did last season after touching the ball once against Wake Forest. He made things happen against Southern in week 2 and never looked back, averaging more than 12 carries the rest of the way.
SYNOPSIS
Running back was the strength of the team a year ago and should be again, although there are concerns. Hilliard should be a given, but the other three are not. The keys in my mind are Bradwell handling the transition from quarterback and Badie providing some big plays. If those two things happens, the loss of Rounds, who was the best back on the team by the end of the year, and Thompson, who had a career-high 23 carries for 108 yards (second best) and a career-best three TDs against UConn in his swan song, won't be significant.
With that qualifier acknowledged, it is not hard to judge cutting ability, quickness, instincts and receiving skills, and from what I saw in the spring, Texas Tech transfer Corey Dauphine is the best all-around back on the roster. Of course, he can't help the team next fall since he is sitting out his transfer year, but it bodes well for 2018 when Dontrell Hilliard and Sherman Badie are gone. Dauphine is fast, he has good acceleration and he picks out holes well.
Last year, Tulane used a rotation of four running backs, with Hilliard, Badie, Thompson and Josh Rounds all carrying a least nine times against UCF and the coaches usually settling on a hot pair as the games went along. The final breakdown was 135 carries (759 yards) for Hilliard, 125 carries (758 yards) for Rounds, 87 carries (506 yards) for Thompson and 43 carries (169 yards) for Badie, who missed four games with an injury. Rounds and Thompson played in all 12 games, while Hilliard missed the finale against UConn.
I expect a similar rotation in the fall with two new guys, and here's my pecking order based on the spring.
1) Hilliard
Something happened to Hilliard at the end of 2016 when a potential 1,000-yard season dissipated into eight carries for 13 yards against Houston and five carries for 22 yards against Temple before he sat out the last game. Yes, both of those teams had excellent run defenses, but he didn't look right after averaging 5.9 yards per carry with 724 yards through nine games.
He looked right this spring, displaying the quickness and pep in his step he had in the past. He's also an excellent if underutilized receiver--the backs combined for only 19 receptions last season. I see no reason for him to have fewer than 20 catches as a senior, but we'll see. He's not only a check down, outlet target. He can run precise patterns out of the backfield and catch the ball even when it is not thrown well.
2) Darius Bradwell
He's raw after moving to running back from quarterback before the finale a year ago, but Bradwell is the most physical runner on the team and likely won't be easy to bring down when he gets a full head of steam going. Some of his practices were better than others in the spring, but I like the way he runs downhill, reminiscent of Thompson but two inches taller and 10 pounds heavier. He is also heady, so I don't anticipate him having much trouble with the transition. Other than Jonathan Banks, I will be more interested to see what Bradwell can do in September than any offensive player. If he is adept at picking the right hole--again, something that is hard to judge in the spring--he will be a force.
3) Sherman Badie
I've never been sold on him, even after his spectacular 200-yard-plus effort against Tulsa in his Tulane debut back in 2014. Hopefully, he will prove me dead wrong. Hampered by injuries, Badie did not even average 4.0 yards per carry last year while the other three averaged at least 5.6. Where he needs to improve is in picking out holes and making decisive moves. Too often, he hesitates behind the line, waiting and waiting for the crease as if he is the best athlete on the field and then getting thrown for a loss. Even his signature long run against Tulsa came that way, when he sort of meandered in the backfield, made a few guys miss, took off and was gone. Plays like that don't happen against good defenses.
Honestly, I did not notice him much in the spring. He missed some time with an injury, but Willie Fritz praised him heavily, and he knows a thing or two about running backs.
Badie is at his best in open space, using his sprinter's speed to good advantage. The question is whether the offensive line can provide that type of room for him. He's also easily the best of Tulane's running backs as the pitch man on the option, but the question again is whether the QBs can run the option properly and set him up for some big gains. His speed should make him dangerous as a receiver, too, but aside from impressive numbers as a sophomore (27 catches, 10.5-yard average), he's done little in the passing game.
4) Stephon Huderson
I really liked what I heard about Huderson in high school, and he did not disappoint in the spring, showing nice quickness and instincts as the smallest scholarship back on the roster (5-9, 190). His ball security was not as good as the other running backs, though, with safety Roderic Teamer picking on that weakness by continually trying to knock the ball from his grasp in practice and succeeding a few times. My guess is Huderson might be a year away from reaching his potential, and I'm not sure what he adds that the other backs don't provide. He will have to produce early in the year to warrant more carries, just as Rounds did last season after touching the ball once against Wake Forest. He made things happen against Southern in week 2 and never looked back, averaging more than 12 carries the rest of the way.
SYNOPSIS
Running back was the strength of the team a year ago and should be again, although there are concerns. Hilliard should be a given, but the other three are not. The keys in my mind are Bradwell handling the transition from quarterback and Badie providing some big plays. If those two things happens, the loss of Rounds, who was the best back on the team by the end of the year, and Thompson, who had a career-high 23 carries for 108 yards (second best) and a career-best three TDs against UConn in his swan song, won't be significant.
