Man of Troy – How Would USC Transfer Stephen Carr a Fit in IU’s Backfield?

Image: LA Times

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The transfer portal has added another element to roster construction and opened a whole new window of recruiting for schools across the country. The Indiana Hoosiers have dipped into the portal to add guys like Ryder Anderson and Zach Carpenter and they’ve lost a few players to other schools. Another interesting name is becoming available as University of Southern California running back Stephen Carr is expected to transfer from the Trojans and use his final season of eligibility at a different school. New Indiana University running backs coach Deland McCullough recruited Carr to USC and the Hoosiers have been mentioned as a possible destination for the former five-star recruit. IU has typically used a one running back scheme and they are returning some talented players so the question becomes, how would Carr potentially fit in Bloomington?

Stephen Carr was a high school All-American starring at Summit High in Fontana, California. He was a five-star recruit that chose to stay close to home and play for the USC Trojans. He debuted in 2017, getting the ball 82 times (65 carries and 17 receptions) and scoring three touchdowns. In 2018, he had 81 carries with two more touchdowns and in 2019, Carr had 72 carries and averaged 5.5 yards per carry with five touchdowns. Last season was a step down as he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry. In total, Carr had 1,329 yards on 264 carries (a five yards per carry average) with 12 touchdowns, caught 57 passes for 421 yards. While he has not necessarily produced as you would hope a five-star recruit would, that is a nice four-year career at a major blue-blood football power. He’s now going to be on the open market and should have several suitors. The Indiana Hoosiers figure to be one of them given the connection to Deland McCullough.

IU’s backfield is looking to replace the production of Stevie Scott. Sampson James and Tim Baldwin are expected to be the top two running backs on the depth chart. David Ellis is an interesting piece for the offense and he should see some carries in addition to work as a pass catcher. Walk-ons like Davion Ervin-Poindexter, Ahrod Lloyd, Chris Childers and Charlie Spegal plus freshman Trenten Howland and David Holloman will round out the running back room. All of those players have to be considered when the staff thinks about adding Stephen Carr. An additional player on the depth chart could mean less opportunities for the current players and as previously mentioned, the transfer portal giveth and the portal taketh away. Diving deeper on the running back depth reveals that perhaps a veteran running back would be a very smart idea. The freshmen are not expected to contribute much this season and Carr is only a one-year scholarship commitment so neither should be impacted by his arrival. The walk-ons, particularly guys like Lloyd and Ervin-Poindexter could be factors for some carries but Indiana’s staff should not be making roster decisions based on whether or not non-scholarship players are going to be happy.

Playing time is going to be earned throughout the offseason and fall camp and whichever players perform the best, walk-ons and transfers included, will play. That brings us to the presumed one and two backs. Tim Baldwin Jr. flashed as a freshman and there are reasons to be optimistic about his ability moving forward. That being said, he only appeared in four games in 2020 and carried the ball a total of 22 times. Most of those came against Maryland as he ran it 16 times for 106 yards to help propel IU to victory over the Terrapins. Taking some of the pressure off of Baldwin to make a huge leap in responsibility by adding a veteran would be a major plus. Sampson James is also unproven. He had 81 carries for 275 yards as a freshman and only had 32 carries for 96 yards as a sophomore. He missed some time during the season for a personal issue and missed time in the spring due to injury. Again, we know James has talent but taking the burden off of James and being able to mix in a veteran like Stephen Carr would be a major benefit.

Ultimately, IU would be fine in the running game with the current backs they have. The Hoosiers are after better than “fine”. Indiana is a top 15 team and Stephen Carr is a player that would improve the depth of the running back room. Deland McCullough is going to be the best judge for the staff of whether or not Carr is a good fit personality and culture wise. We won’t know how those conversations will end up going. From strictly a personnel standpoint though, the addition of Stephen Carr would be a very welcome one to ensure the running back position will be well-stocked for the grueling 2021 campaign ahead.