Last season Idaho ranked 96th in the nation in rushing, averaging 137-and-a-half yards per game. Two of the Vandals top four rushers were quarterbacks — Joshua McCain and Chad Chalich, and the leading rusher was senior running back James Baker.
Baker has since graduated with hopes of playing in the NFL, McCain is now a wide receiver and Chalich is battling redshirt freshman Matt Linehan to keep his job. The three players combined for more than half of the Vandals’ 1,650 rushing yards last season.
Replacing that production won’t be easy, but the situation isn’t as dire as it seems.
Idaho coach Paul Petrino said the competition for starting running back is wide open and will be ongoing until the first game Aug. 30, when the Vandals take on Florida in Gainesville, Fla.
“The competition has been great,” Petrino said. “I thought Jerrel (Brown) had a great day Saturday. He had a bunch of carries and made some good yards running the ball. Then he turned around and had eight catches and made us some good yards receiving, too … If we played today, Jerrel would be the guy.”
Brown, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior from San Mateo, Calif., enjoyed a breakout performance during the team’s first scrimmage last Saturday. He finished the game rushing 106 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries.
In the offseason, Brown said, along with hitting the weight room, he spent a lot of time studying the playbook. He said the college game is more mental and he really has to know all his plays, keys and blitz pick-ups.
“I’m able to play faster because of that,” Brown said. “I also got in better shape stretching. It’s got me running faster and feeling better.”
Petrino said he doesn’t want a running back by committee this season. The hope, he said, is to have one or two guys really take over, know what they do well and use them accordingly.
Brown’s main competition is junior Kris Olugbode. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound running back played in all 12 games last season. He rushed for 96 yards on 26 carries and had four receptions for 55 yards.
Richard Montgomery is listed as a running back on the depth chart, but Petrino said he envisions a different role for the 5-foot-8, 180-pound sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla.
“Rich is kind of a hybrid,” Petrino said. “We’ll line him up at both running back and wide receiver. We’re going to get Rich the ball one way or another, we just need to get the ball in his hands. Every game he needs to touch the ball at least 16 times.”
In his freshman campaign, Montgomery showed glimpses of just how dangerous he could potentially be. Not only did he contribute on offense, he returned kicks as well, racking up 699 all-purpose yards.
With Montgomery’s unique hybrid role, Petrino said he doesn’t factor him in the running back competition.
Adding to the competition, though, will be three newcomers — Isaiah Saunders, Elijhaa Penny and Aaron Duckworth.
Of those three, Saunders is the only one partaking in spring practices. After originally signing in 2013, the 5-foot-10, 216-pound running back from Elk Grove, Calif., was gray-shirted and sat out a year before enrolling this semester.
Saunders rushed for 66 yards on 12 carries, with one touchdown in last Saturdays scrimmage. Petrino said he liked what he seen from his young back, thus far.
“Isaiah Saunders has done some nice things,” Petrino said. “You also got Elijah Penny, and Duckworth — those are two really good players. The more competition the better, it makes everybody work harder.”
Penny and Duckworth signed with the 2014 class and will join the team in the fall. Despite signing together, the similarities end there. Penny, a junior college transfer from Cerritos College in California, is 6-foot-2, 242 pounds. Duckworth, from Oakleaf High School in Florida, is 5-foot-9, 196 pounds.
Brown said he won’t let the competition get in the way of helping out the newcomers, though.
“When we leave, they got to feel comfortable and know what they’re doing,” Brown said. “We’re like older brothers to them. When they got any question or want to know something, we help them out or show what they need to do, so when they go in, we can rely on them. That’s what it’s really all about.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]