Football: Plethora of running backs competing for time

Now that Pitt’s top two running backs and starting fullback from last year are gone, the Pitt… Now that Pitt’s top two running backs and starting fullback from last year are gone, the Pitt football team must decide who will play in the backfield this season.

Workhorse running back LeSean McCoy declared for the NFL Draft after just two seasons at Pitt, while LaRod Stephens-Howling and starting fullback Conredge Collins graduated.

Yet, there is no need for Pitt fans to panic, as the current backfield, though young and inexperienced, is stocked with talent.

The three tailbacks competing for the starting job are true freshman Dion Lewis, redshirt freshman Chris Burns and redshirt sophomore Shariff Harris.

While Lewis already started to separate himself from the rest, all three look like solid bets to get touches in game action.

“We have three guys that we will start training camp with who we will need to figure out what roles to put them in,” running backs coach David Walker said. “Past years have shown that we’re going to need at least three running backs.”

Lewis impressed coaches in the spring with his raw athletic ability. He can bench press 365 pounds, even though he only weighs about 190 pounds, and has quickly grasped the offense — a feat that is usually the toughest for freshmen to achieve.

Lewis enrolled at Pitt last semester to get a jumpstart on working out with the team, and it has helped him take an early advantage toward being the starting tailback.

“I was very pleased with Dion’s progress this spring,” Walker said.

Walker and the coaching staff have also preached key tasks that all the backs must continue doing to see increased game action.

“The coaches tell us to stay focused and to know our assignments,” Burns said. “If you run a 4.2 [40-yard dash time] but can’t run your routes and don’t know your assignments, then that speed doesn’t mean much.”

Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Henry Hynoski and redshirt junior Kevin Collier are battling for the starting fullback role.

Hynoski, Collier and Harris are the only Pitt backs with game experience, combining for 49 rushing yards on 17 carries last season. Those three are all powerful runners who thrive off drawing contact, while Burns and Lewis are quicker and more elusive runners who are both less than 6 feet tall and 200 pounds.

Add highly touted freshman running back Raymond Graham from Elizabeth, N.J., who is set to join the team shortly, and the backfield is about to get even more crowded.

While McCoy, Stephens-Howling and Collins’ 1,885 combined rushing yards and 26 touchdowns will be difficult to top, the current running back corps said it feels confident the work it has put in is starting to pay off.

“The summer workouts have been going well so far,” Burns said. “We’re growing as a unit and learning a lot.”

Burns said the time he spent redshirting last season and practicing as the scout team running back in practice has only helped him.

“Whenever your competition is against the first team defense, you can only get better,” Burns said.

McCoy might have left a void in the tailback spot with his early departure from the Panthers to the Philadelphia Eagles, but he left a lasting effect through his work ethic that has rubbed off on the current running backs.

“The biggest thing I took from being around LeSean is his competitiveness,” Burns said. “Not just in football, but in whatever he was doing, whether it be in video games or something else.”