Best of the Bunch at
RB
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
By
Curtis Popejoy
2nd of 7 columns on the top positional
units in college football
Deciding which among college football’s
offensive backfields is best has proven to be the toughest
decision of all the units. Some are as clear as can be,
but no such luck here. There are several teams in the
country with running back combos or with backups better
than the starters on other Top 25 teams. So, how to do
take a group so close, and pull just one unit out as the
best of the bunch? For me, it came down to how few
negatives there are for the unit as opposed to positives;
because among the units of Minnesota, Auburn, USC, Kansas
State, and Wisconsin, the number of positives far outweigh
the negatives.
In the
final analysis, the nod for best backfield of the bunch
goes to the Minnesota Golden Gophers golden tandem of
Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney with an honorable
mention to fullback Justin Valentine. I can hear the
Tiger and Trojan faithful shouting in the background. But
that choice comes down to two things for me: Auburn’s
Williams has had some injury issues, which have limited
him throughout his career, and for the Trojan backfield,
while they may end up being the best of the bunch in 2005,
they are too young and inexperienced to bump the Gophers.
It’s
hard to imagine the “problem”
that Minnesota had last year trying to divide carries
among Barber, Maroney, Terry Jackson, Thomas Tapeh, and
Asad Abdul-Khaliq. This year Jackson has transferred to
Southern Illinois, to form the best non-D1 RB tandem,
Tapeh is in the NFL, and Abdul-Khaliq has moved on. That
leaves Barber and Maroney to rack up huge rushing yards
and touchdowns.
Barber
may very well be the most complete back in the country in
terms of running and receiving ability. The 5'11"/215 lb.
junior is a fine example of a “feature”
back that NFL teams look for with his good size, speed and
surprising power around the goal line. Last season,
Barber went for 1,196 yards, 17 touchdowns, and a 5.8
yards per carry average. Barber did all of this while
sharing time with Jackson and Maroney and spending a good
part of the season getting into playing shape. Along with
his rushing skills, he’s
a gifted receiver and kick returner. Despite possibly
being a notch below Cedric Benson and Carnell Williams as
a pure runner, he’s
a more complete player than both. Barber’s
nose for the end zone is almost unmatched among college
RBs.
Maroney, just a freshman last
year, was a huge surprise for Coach Mason by turning in
the top rushing performance of any freshman in D1
football. Maroney’s
1,121 yards and 6.9 yards per carry was enough to earn a
share of the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor. Maroney
is almost a physical clone of Barber, just with more
breakaway speed. He has a less polished game, yet he’s
simply too talented to keep off the field, regardless of
Barber’s
presence. Once Barber jets to the NFL next April, Maroney
will be the man so to speak — just don’t
count out Amir Pinnix and Maurice Alexander to play the
“Maroney”
role on him next year. When add to the mix that Barber
had a slight knee sprain during the spring, Maroney is
just chomping at the bit to get the bulk of the carries.
Both
backs are capable of carrying the load for the Gophers, in
lieu of the other. Barring injury, neither will have to
and that will keep them fresh, which is bad news for Big
Ten opponents. Coach Mason’s
offense is geared around getting big runs from their backs
and Barber and Maroney will reap the benefits of that
philosophy, not to mention a strong offensive line.
The
twist to all this is that for as great as Barber is, he
won’t
be on anyone’s
watch list for the Heisman due to the presence of Maroney.
That’s
too bad for Barber, but a great thing for the Gophers.
Something to keep in mind and alluded to previously, when
comparing the Gophers backs to the other backfields — this
one is returning along with a big, talented offensive line
and will have an inexperienced quarterback. When you
further consider the absence of Jackson, FB Thomas Tapeh,
and rushing QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq, from an offense that
averaged 52 rushing attempts per game last year, the
result is potential for immense stats for both Barber and
Maroney. Could the Gophers get two guys approaching 2,000
yards? I’d suggest it’s something to keep an eye on.
