North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Wolfpack's deep backfield is a big plus
8/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
RALEIGH – Chuck Amato remembers when NC State had so many running backs – all of them dangerous in a different way – it was hard to keep up with exactly who carried the ball. It was 1973, his third year back at his alma mater as a graduate assistant and the second year of the Lou Holtz era.
There were four phenomenal options in the backfield: seniors Willie Burden and Charley Young, junior Stan Fritts and sophomore Roland Hooks. All of them eventually played professional football.
And that season, in leading the Wolfpack to its only ACC Championship under Holtz, the quartet piled up enough yards on the ground they set a school record that has never been approached, an amazing 272.3 yards per game rushing.
Burden rushed for 100 yards five times that season, with Fritts adding a pair of 100-yard games. Burden became the first 1,000-yard back in school history, finishing with 1,019 yards and earning the ACC Player of the Year award.
Charley Young had three 100-yard games and was a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) of the Dallas Cowboys.
Fritts, who was a first-team all-ACC performer the year before and the year after, became one of the most successful running backs in school history, despite his relatively slight frame.
And Hooks still holds the school record for average yards per carry in a single season, at 5.45 yards per carry.
So no one will convince Amato that having three exceptional tailbacks – sophomores Andre Brown and Toney Baker and redshirt freshman Jamelle Eugene – is too much
“The whole thing for us is to get as many playmakers on the field,” Amato said Sunday at the Wolfpack’s annual media day and Day of Champions at the RBC Center. “I would rather have me watching them than having them on the sidelines with me.
“I think our offensive staff is doing a really good job putting together some things so that we can get them out there.”
No, the Wolfpack won’t be running the triple-option wishbone. Neither will they run the split-back veer that Holtz introduced when he arrived in Raleigh, and used so effectively with Burden, Young, Fritts and Hooks.
But the offense is designed to put the ball in the hands of its most effective players, whether that is the trio of running backs or someone from the receiving corps, like junior Darrell Blackman, who moved from running back to wide receiver in the spring.
“We feel like we can hand the ball off and that we have difference makers at that position,” offensive coordinator Marc Trestman said.
And twice in pre-season camp an interested observer has watched the Wolfpack backs in action. Fritts, who returned to Raleigh five years ago, likes what he sees.
“Obviously, there are some similarities, based on what they had last year when there were so many talented running backs,” he said Sunday afternoon. “There were quite a few when we played also. Sometimes it’s not always good to have too many good running backs, but as long as you have the talent and you have the ability to utilize it, you should take advantage of it.
“There are a lot of benefits to be able to count on so many running backs.”
The 1973 Wolfpack finished the season with an unblemished 6-0 ACC record and was 9-3 overall, finishing with a 31-18 victory over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl. The three losses that year were at Nebraska, at Georgia and at Penn State.
The current crop of running backs enjoy the challenge of competing for time on the field. They had a splashy day Saturday in the Wolfpack’s first scrimmage of the season, with Baker rushing for 152 yards on eight carries and Brown rushing for 117 yards on 11 carries.
“We are all convinced that there are enough balls to go around and that we can do what we need to do to win ball games,” Baker said. “We are all working in the backfield, running the ball and helping out on pass protection.”
Amato is convinced he needs as many capable running backs on the field as he can get, the same as every other coach in college football, even if most schools are throwing the ball more than they are running it.
“The more you read about what other people have done and the more you read about trends in college football, there really aren’t a lot of tailbacks in college that average more than 25 carries per game,” Amato said. “That’s a lot of punishment for these guys.
“The fresher they stay, the stronger they will be.”
And the coach knows that a deep backfield can win championships.
“If we can do half as much with them as Coach Holtz did with that stable of backs that he had, it opens up a lot of things for us,” Amato said.
You can reach Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
