With the return of Corey Dauphine, Tulane had six scholarship running backs for the last three spring practices, and you could make the case for five of them (some cases would be stronger than others) to be the Green Wave's leading rusher in the fall.
Here is my assessment of each, in descending order of the likelihood of them being the leading rusher. There can be a lot of legitimate debate on this.
1) Tyjae Spears
Spears was held in check In his one game against quality competition last year, rushing 10 time for 31 yards against SMU with a long gain of 7 (although he caught three passes for 41 yards), but he was rusty, playing for only the second time in eight games as the coaches made sure he was eligible for a redshirt. But from what I observed in preseason scrimmages and in practice last fall and this spring, he is Tulane's most complete back with that X factor that makes a player special. He also is loaded with confidence about his ability and expects to be a huge factor now, not later.
In his other two games of significance, he helped lead Tulane's second-half comeback at Navy (although Cam Carroll played an even bigger role) with 12 carries for 60 yards and ran for 89 yards on eight carries with an 88-yard touchdown reception against hapless Missouri State, an FCS opponent that finished 1-11. He is a game-breaker with good vision, good moves and the ability to change speeds, and the coaches love his work ethic. The key for him will be making sure he has the offense down and is reliable in pass protection, a factor most of us almost always ignore and coaches always consider essential.
2) Corey Dauphine
Despite getting only 72 carries--39 fewer than Darius Bradwell and the same number as Carroll--Dauphine led the running backs with 575 yards thanks to his absurd 8.0 average per attempt. He carried the ball 124 times in 2018, so just think what he can do with a bigger workload if he stays healthy. As he told me when he returned, he needs to work on reading defenses, but he is not just a track guy playing football, as one practice observer tried to tell me in the spring. He is as good as anyone in the country at turning the corner and accelerating to the end zone. His seven touchdowns were three more than any of the other running backs, and he has more power than most believe. If he gets the touches, he easily could be Tulane's leading runner, but I'm not sure he's mentally there for every snap. HIs mystifying inability to be any factor in the passing game--his two receptions a year ago were the first of his career at Tulane or Texas Tech--is indicative of some shortcomings. On occasion, he lacks focus.
Still, there's no one like Dauphine to put fear in defenses when he gets to the open field. His getting a sixth year of eligibility will be good for at least one more victory than Tulane would have had without him. He's a difference-maker.
3) Amare Jones
I'm off the Jones bandwagon, but it will not take much to get me back on it, and I know Fritz and Will Hall absolutely love his potential and work ethic. After a fantastic game against Army on the first weekend of October last fall (nine carries, 65 yards; six receptions, 104 yards), he did not match that production the rest of the year and was caught in the backfield trying to create the home run play too often instead of getting what he could. An ankle injury was a significant part of the equation, but his rushing attempts were paltry the rest of the way (33 carries, 169 yards with a high of 39 against Temple), and he did not break as many tackles as his backfield mates.
Maybe it took some time to get used to the slotback role Hall created for him, but I don't see Jones as Tulane's bellwether ball-carrier in the fall. He might lead the Wave in combined yards rushing and receiving--he is an excellent route runner--but it is hard to see him having the most rushing yards alone unless his slump in the second half of 2019 was more about health than I realize.
4) Cam Carroll
The people who loved Lazedrick Thompson in the CJ era probably expect Carroll to emerge as the top back this season because of his size and power. I always felt Thompson was overrated, with an upright running style that made him easy to tackle until he had a full head of steam going, which rarely happened with CJ's offensive lines. Carroll is better than Thompson, with legit power, as he proved in a tour de force against Navy in the second half last year, but he does not have the moves or instincts of Spears, and he said in the spring he, like Thompson, has a tendency to run too high. After bruising Navy's defenders with 71 yards on eight impressive carries, he failed to average four yards in his next three games before having a decent Armed Forces Bowl.
Look for Carroll to be more involved as a receiver in the fall (he had two catches for zero yards last year), but I don't see the same dynamism in him as the three backs I listed in front of him. There will be games when Tulane needs his power, and he will be a factor each week, but probably not the No. 1 guy. Regardless, he gives Tulane yet another different skill set in a diverse backfield. As one coach told me, finding a way to get all these guys enough touches is a really nice problem to have.
5) Stephon Huderson
Fans used to groan when Huderson got the ball with all the talented running backs around him, but then he gained 100 yards on seven carries against Tulsa in a game Tulane needed to win to clinch bowl eligibility (the Wave likely would have finished 5-7 if had lost to the Golden Hurricane). He did not exactly build on that performance, gaining 42 yards on 14 carries for the rest of the season, and had not done a ton before then, gaining 149 yards on 30 attempts. The question is whether that game was an outlier rather than an indication of his potential.
Huderson's best strength is his versatility. He is the best pass blocker of the group, and he is a better receiver than his numbers indicated (three catches, 70 yards). He tweeted at the start of spring drills that it was time for him to go from role player to big-time contributor, and i believe his skills are underrated. Yet, he lacks the explosiveness of Spears, Dauphine and Jones and the power of Carroll. Too often last year, he appeared on the verge of a good gain when he was tripped up. The coaches really like him, but I just don't see him taking away many carries from the other guys in his senior year. Just like last year, the Wave will need him at some point because running backs get dinged up more than any other position.
I am not doing a write-up of Ygenio Booker, but he's a heck of a sixth-string running back who can be a factor in the passing game out of the backfield and lining up wide. He's the second most talented receiver behind Jones of this group.
Here is my assessment of each, in descending order of the likelihood of them being the leading rusher. There can be a lot of legitimate debate on this.
1) Tyjae Spears
Spears was held in check In his one game against quality competition last year, rushing 10 time for 31 yards against SMU with a long gain of 7 (although he caught three passes for 41 yards), but he was rusty, playing for only the second time in eight games as the coaches made sure he was eligible for a redshirt. But from what I observed in preseason scrimmages and in practice last fall and this spring, he is Tulane's most complete back with that X factor that makes a player special. He also is loaded with confidence about his ability and expects to be a huge factor now, not later.
In his other two games of significance, he helped lead Tulane's second-half comeback at Navy (although Cam Carroll played an even bigger role) with 12 carries for 60 yards and ran for 89 yards on eight carries with an 88-yard touchdown reception against hapless Missouri State, an FCS opponent that finished 1-11. He is a game-breaker with good vision, good moves and the ability to change speeds, and the coaches love his work ethic. The key for him will be making sure he has the offense down and is reliable in pass protection, a factor most of us almost always ignore and coaches always consider essential.
2) Corey Dauphine
Despite getting only 72 carries--39 fewer than Darius Bradwell and the same number as Carroll--Dauphine led the running backs with 575 yards thanks to his absurd 8.0 average per attempt. He carried the ball 124 times in 2018, so just think what he can do with a bigger workload if he stays healthy. As he told me when he returned, he needs to work on reading defenses, but he is not just a track guy playing football, as one practice observer tried to tell me in the spring. He is as good as anyone in the country at turning the corner and accelerating to the end zone. His seven touchdowns were three more than any of the other running backs, and he has more power than most believe. If he gets the touches, he easily could be Tulane's leading runner, but I'm not sure he's mentally there for every snap. HIs mystifying inability to be any factor in the passing game--his two receptions a year ago were the first of his career at Tulane or Texas Tech--is indicative of some shortcomings. On occasion, he lacks focus.
Still, there's no one like Dauphine to put fear in defenses when he gets to the open field. His getting a sixth year of eligibility will be good for at least one more victory than Tulane would have had without him. He's a difference-maker.
3) Amare Jones
I'm off the Jones bandwagon, but it will not take much to get me back on it, and I know Fritz and Will Hall absolutely love his potential and work ethic. After a fantastic game against Army on the first weekend of October last fall (nine carries, 65 yards; six receptions, 104 yards), he did not match that production the rest of the year and was caught in the backfield trying to create the home run play too often instead of getting what he could. An ankle injury was a significant part of the equation, but his rushing attempts were paltry the rest of the way (33 carries, 169 yards with a high of 39 against Temple), and he did not break as many tackles as his backfield mates.
Maybe it took some time to get used to the slotback role Hall created for him, but I don't see Jones as Tulane's bellwether ball-carrier in the fall. He might lead the Wave in combined yards rushing and receiving--he is an excellent route runner--but it is hard to see him having the most rushing yards alone unless his slump in the second half of 2019 was more about health than I realize.
4) Cam Carroll
The people who loved Lazedrick Thompson in the CJ era probably expect Carroll to emerge as the top back this season because of his size and power. I always felt Thompson was overrated, with an upright running style that made him easy to tackle until he had a full head of steam going, which rarely happened with CJ's offensive lines. Carroll is better than Thompson, with legit power, as he proved in a tour de force against Navy in the second half last year, but he does not have the moves or instincts of Spears, and he said in the spring he, like Thompson, has a tendency to run too high. After bruising Navy's defenders with 71 yards on eight impressive carries, he failed to average four yards in his next three games before having a decent Armed Forces Bowl.
Look for Carroll to be more involved as a receiver in the fall (he had two catches for zero yards last year), but I don't see the same dynamism in him as the three backs I listed in front of him. There will be games when Tulane needs his power, and he will be a factor each week, but probably not the No. 1 guy. Regardless, he gives Tulane yet another different skill set in a diverse backfield. As one coach told me, finding a way to get all these guys enough touches is a really nice problem to have.
5) Stephon Huderson
Fans used to groan when Huderson got the ball with all the talented running backs around him, but then he gained 100 yards on seven carries against Tulsa in a game Tulane needed to win to clinch bowl eligibility (the Wave likely would have finished 5-7 if had lost to the Golden Hurricane). He did not exactly build on that performance, gaining 42 yards on 14 carries for the rest of the season, and had not done a ton before then, gaining 149 yards on 30 attempts. The question is whether that game was an outlier rather than an indication of his potential.
Huderson's best strength is his versatility. He is the best pass blocker of the group, and he is a better receiver than his numbers indicated (three catches, 70 yards). He tweeted at the start of spring drills that it was time for him to go from role player to big-time contributor, and i believe his skills are underrated. Yet, he lacks the explosiveness of Spears, Dauphine and Jones and the power of Carroll. Too often last year, he appeared on the verge of a good gain when he was tripped up. The coaches really like him, but I just don't see him taking away many carries from the other guys in his senior year. Just like last year, the Wave will need him at some point because running backs get dinged up more than any other position.
I am not doing a write-up of Ygenio Booker, but he's a heck of a sixth-string running back who can be a factor in the passing game out of the backfield and lining up wide. He's the second most talented receiver behind Jones of this group.
