Indiana Football Fall Camp Update: Running Backs Rule the Day

Stevie Scott impresses in practice four Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written By Rylie Kyhn

Coach Tom Allen said the Hoosiers have been praying for some heat in order to prepare for the kickoff of their season in Miami against Florida International on September 1st and that is exactly what they are getting in Bloomington this week. The sun was already beating down and the intensity on the field at Monday’s practice seemed to crank the heat up another ten degrees, especially with the Big Ten Network crew in town. The competitiveness between the offense and defense was visible but it looked favor offense. “The defense didn’t have a bad day but the offense got the best of them for the most part,” said Tom Allen. The defense had to run quite a bit after practice to make up for what they didn’t get done on the field.

A huge part of the offense on Monday was the run game and the chances the offense was getting to earn yardage. Coach Allen has highlighted the importance of the run game and after Monday’s practice, running backs coach Mike Hart had the same thing to say. “You can’t win football games in the Big Ten without being able to run the ball,” said Hart.

Hart highlighted how it starts with the guys up front and having five returning starters with a better understanding of the offense and what they want is going to benefit the run game. Then it’s on the running backs and Coach Hart discussed how necessary it is to have backs that can break tackles and get those extra yards. “To me it’s a combination of those things. The offensive line has to do their job and the running backs have to be special.” At practice, it seemed as though the combination was coming together quite well.

As they split into position groups, the running backs focused on explosiveness and ball protection using resistance bands and going through drills to target those aspects of their game. Then as it came time to scrimmage, we got to see the different running backs in action and the different abilities of each.

Throughout the scrimmage like drills, we got to see a lot of Cole Gest and he impressed with a couple different plays both running and receiving the ball. Gest had quite a few catches on pop out plays and scored a touchdown on a pass down the sideline. He looks incredibly fast and mobile and his burst coming of the edge of the line was impressive as he transitioned right into running hard. Gest showed that he is a reliable target and he caught a couple of difficult passes and turned them into positive yardage for a first down on more than one occasion.

Another back that turned a few heads is freshman, Stevie Scott. He is a solid player and he runs as though he can’t be stopped. Scott ran through a couple of defensive players today and got the entire offense cheering at one point. “I like the versatility of the group. Stevie Scott kind of sticks out to me. He is big now at 235 pounds and he is strong as a bull. He is really fast and he just has to learn what he’s doing but he has flashed,” said Coach Allen. He has a solid frame and he is a hard runner which makes him incredibly difficult to stop.

Of course a player who is not far behind and also continues to stand out out is Morgan Ellison. Ellison is visibly faster than he was last season and he looks healthy which is going to be key.

“He is bigger and stronger and faster than I have ever seen him,” said Coach Allen and most would have to agree with him.

Another running back that has seen a lot of field time for the Hoosiers is Mike Majette. He struggled with an injury last season but looks healthy out on the field. During Monday’s practice he had a couple receptions and a good run. He looks quick and agile and like he is moving around well. He brings more experience to this group and has the ability to help the younger backs out a lot. Coach Allen spoke highly of him as well and said “he has a great skill set, we just have to keep him healthy.”

The group of running backs that the Hoosiers have is incredibly solid. The speed and strength development is visible in each of them. “I really like that room, they have really grown,” said Coach Allen and that is visible on the field. No matter who was out there for the running back group, it seemed like they were making something happen.

Using just one running back isn’t what Coach Allen and his staff plan to do. Allen discussed how he wants to have a couple different guys at running back with different skill sets because it’s necessary. “I just think the way that offense is played, the number of snaps that we get, it’s very smart to have that,” said Coach Allen.

The running back group looks extremely solid with good depth and with the Hoosiers trying to have depth at every position, this is definitely a positive for them offensively.