Running back by Committee

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Running back by committee? Auburn's Curtis Luper will look for the hot hand in the opener
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 6:06 AM

AUBURN, Alabama — Auburn running backs coach Curtis Luper knows what he has in Onterio McCalebb. He is Luper's leading returning rusher, the Tigers' No. 2 returning receiver and a player who has quietly amassed 2,500 career rushing and receiving yards.

But Luper still isn't sure about his running back rotation that also features Tre Mason, Mike Blakely and Corey Grant heading into Saturday's season-opener against Clemson.

"It will be running back by committee, I would say, until someone emerges as the leader of that group," Luper says.

"The plan is to play all those guys."

McCalebb has run second to 1,000-yard rushers Ben Tate and Mike Dyer the past three years. But the player who rushed for 641 yards last year and led all SEC running backs in catches last year with 32 is now the No. 1 tailback over a largely untested running back corps.

Auburn hasn’t had a deep running back rotation since Gene Chizik arrived for the 2009 season. Even this year’s group was thinned when the Tigers lost freshman Jovon Robinson early in practice to academics. Still, Luper says he has depth.

"We have three or four running backs, and we can play two at a time, which is what wanted to do the last three or four years," he said. "We have that opportunity Saturday, and that would be exciting. That would put a lot of pressure on the defense."

Or he can even throw in new fullback Jay Prosch, who Luper said would also moonlight as a tight end and flex out on the line of scrimmage. 

"He’s not just an I-formation fullback," Luper said. 

Could Luper be looking for one of tailbacks to rush for 1,000 yards for the fourth consecutive season? Tate did it one year. Dyer did it two years. Could Mason be next? Blakely? McCalebb? 

"We think we're going to need every one of them to do some things offensively," Luper said. "We have a couple of packages where we'll play multiple backs, and that helps us."

Mason rushed for 161 yards last season while Blakely and Grant watched as redshirts. 
Grant has been hurt part of fall practice and is slowly coming back. Blakely missed time, too, but his stock rose in the past week to be listed as the co-No. 2 tailback with Mason, who has also been hurt.

"He's ready to go. He's ready to rock," Luper said.

Luper said Blakely has been "what we expected of him, which is he can make the first defender miss just about every time. He's a conscientious. He works hard. He's eager to play."

Luper said he’ll play the hot hand Saturday. 

"No. 1 will depend on who gets the most yards and makes the chains move. Whoever that is, you'll see a lot of him. Corey, Tre, or whoever," Luper said.

But McCalebb and Mason may bring more diversity. 

"You’ll see those guys more involved in the passing game than they’ve been," Luper said. 

Auburn has had a 1,000-yard tailback in eight of the past 12 years, including the past three. 

Luper predicted in 2009 that Mario Fannin would rush for 1,000 yards.  He didn’t. But Tate did. Dyer went over 1,000 yards in 2010 and 2011. 

The dozen year run began in 2000 when Rudi Johnson went for 1,567 yards. He was followed by Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams twice, Kenny Irons, Tate and Dyer. 

In the non-tailback division, Cam Newton set an SEC rushing record for a quarterback when he ran for 1,473 yards in 2010.