New Associate Head Coach Deland McCullough Electrified by the Running Back Unit

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Zach Green (@Zgreene650)

New Associate Head Coach Deland McCullough sounded impressed by his unit after their first fall practice. Every guy on this unit can ball according to McCullough and he sounded excited to show them what he can do to improve their games. 

“Well I mean that was the intriguing part about returning to IU is just looking at the overall offensive system, great minds up there and being able to come in and just put some touches in that running back room and continue to upgrade that.”

The running back unit this year is filled with depth. Returners Sampson James, Tim Baldwin Jr, and elite transfer Stephen Carr are favorites to win the job but McCullough is not willing to pick an RB1 quite yet. He wants a competition between all the guys and an all-around back who can do everything such as pass protection.

“I went through the mission statement yesterday with the guys and the number one thing was you will protect the ball and you will protect the Quarterback. You can’t do those things you can’t play. My history with running backs has been on the upper end and understanding the importance for our team and our overall success that’ll continue to be stressed. So everything counts. Drills, ball security, pass protection, all aspects of the running back position will be evaluated.”

It is important to note that McCullough knows what it takes to play at the next level. For the past three years, he spent time coaching the Running Back unit in Kansas City. Before that, he was a part of the IU program and developed NFL talents such as Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard. That said, he has brought some aspects of the game that he learned while coaching in the NFL such as the practice format. 

“Well, the schedule that were doing right now was adopted from what we did in the NFL. This training camp schedule is what I proposed a couple weeks ago to the coordinators and then ultimately to coach Allen and that’s kind of what we were rolling with.” 

McCullough is already making a huge impact on the rising program, the running back unit seems to have a pep in their step since he came in and they have all shown LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. He understands that hard decisions will need to be made but every guy will get a chance to show off their skills  

“The great thing is you have a bunch of guys in there that understand what is at stake and it's an opportunity for all of them to show what they can do. At some point, you have to write someone first on the depth chart, but those guys know that doesn't mean what is going to happen as we go through the competition of this preseason. As we go through [fall camp], trying to spread the reps around and give a bunch of guys opportunities behind the number one offensive line, but more importantly no matter what line they are behind, making sure the details and execution are at a level you need it to be at. It'll be a day-to-day thing and all of the guys are embracing the competition and that is what you want.”