Conference USA Position Rankings Part 2: Running Backs

Conference USA has been putting a lot of quality running backs into the NFL lately (Chris Johnson, ECU; DeAngelo Williams, Memphis; Kevin Smith, UCF; Matt Forte, Tulane) and 2009 was a banner year for rushing in the conference. C-USA boasted nine 1,000 yard rushers in 2009 led by UTEP's Donald Buckram (1,594 yards). Buckram is back but 7 of those rushers are gone. There will be a lot of new faces carrying the ball in C-USA in 2010, lets see who's got the best.

12. Tulane Green Wave

Projected Starter: Albert Williams, Jr.

Tulane finished dead last in rushing a season ago, and that was with Sr. Andre Anderson rushing for 1,016 yards. After Anderson the leading rusher in '09 was WR Jeremy Williams with 167 yards. So who is the Green Wave's leading returning running back? That would be Sophomore Payten Jason who carried the ball 19 times for 85 yards last season. Albert Williams, Stephen Barnett, and J.T. McDonald combined for 19 carries and 27 yards. Tulane doesn't return a RB who scored a touchdown last year either.

11. UAB Blazers

Projected Starter: Pat Shed, Jr.

UAB got very little from their RBs in 2009, and most of what they had is gone. Top RB Rashaud Slaughter who only had 250 yards on 44 carries with one TD is gone and there isn't much left to replace him. The leading returning RB is Senior Daniel Borne who had 188 yards on 50 carries and 1 TD. He will compete with East Mississippi Community College transfer, Pat Shed for the starting duties. Three star recruit Chad Winbush (6'0" 200lb) could also compete for playing time as a true freshman. Last year QB Joe Webb did the majority of the running, and with him gone the Blazers' rushing attack could be pretty meager this season unless one of these unproven running backs steps up.

10. Memphis Tigers

Projected Starter: Lance Smith, Sr.

The Tigers are yet another team to lose a 1,000 yard rusher in Curtis Steele who rushed for 1,239 yards and 15 TDs and an impressive 6.3 yd/att average. Memphis has a few RBs coming back who carried the ball in 2009. RS Senior Lance Smith got the majority of those touches, gaining 149 yard and a touchdown on 46 attempts. Marcus Hightower (So.) gained 34 yards on 5 carries and Gregory Ray (Sr.) added 16 yards on 4 carries. The Tigers bring in a couple of good recruits in Jerrell Rhodes (5'10" 195) and Ketauras Stanton (6'1" 225) to add depth to the unit. JR Darcel Johnson, 6'0" 235 lb, could also make an impact.

9. SMU Mustangs

Projected Starter: Zach Line, So.

SMU's RB situation looking a little bleak for 2010. Shawnbrae McNeil and his 1,188 yards and 12 TDs from 2009 are gone to the NFL. Sophomore Zach Line is the leading returning rusher from last years squad and he only had 189 yards on the ground on 49 carries, although he did have 7 TDs. The only other returning players with rushing attempts in 2009 are Kyle Padron and Punter Matt Szymanski. YIKES! Senior Chris Butler did gain 116 and 174 yards in 2007 and 2008 respectively and totaled 3 rushing TDs, but didn't factor into the backfield in '09.Darryl Fields, a 3 star recruit with a big 6'2" frame as well as some good speed, and Kevin Pope, a tough runner at 5'10" 225 lb, are incoming freshman that could compete for the starting job. The Mustangs were 10th in rushing last year and will likely finish in a similar position in 2010 unless one of the young guys can make a quick transition to the college game. Lucky for the Mustangs the passing game is their forte.

8. Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Projected Starter: V.J. Floyd

Southern Miss lost their top two RBs from 2009 to graduation. Seniors Damien Fletcher and Tory Harrison combined for 1,662 yards and 18 TDs and were largely responsible for USM finishing second in the league in rushing. V.J. Floyd and Tracey Lampley are the top returning RBs from 2009. Floyd finished with 17 carries for 59 yards and a 3.5 average while Tracey Lampley gained 122 yards on 21 attempts averaging 5.8 yards per rush and scoring 1 touchdown. Southern Miss will likely have a running back by committee look in 2010 and true freshmen Jeremy Hester and Allan Howze, both 3 star recruits, could see some playing time early in their careers, as could 2009 4 star recruit Kendrick Hardy.

7. Rice Owls

Projected Starter: SamMcGuffie, So.

Rice was one of 3 teams that didn't have a 1,000 yard rusher in '09. Charles Ross looked impressive for the Owls rushing for 491 yards and 11 TDs on only 97 carries for a 5.1 avg as a Freshman. RS Junior, Tyler Smith added 428 yards and a TD. Marcus Knox (Sr.) and Shane Turner (So.) each got a handful of carries last season. Rice will also have the services of youtube superstar, Sam McGuffie who transfered from Michigan. McGuffie rushed for 486 yards and 3 touchdowns for Michigan in 2008. All in all, not a bad group. They should improve from last year when Rice was ranked 11th in the conference in rushing.

6. ECU Pirates

Projected Starter: Jonathan Williams, Sr.

Dominique Lindsay rushed for over a 1,000 yards in 2009 and has earned a spot on the Tennessee Titans pre season roster. Even with his departure ECU has a wealth of experience returning at running back. The downside is that almost every one of those backs have been in the dog house at one point or another at ECU. With a new coaching staff at ECU there seems to be a clean slate policy so it could be a great unit if everyone can keep their nose clean. Johnathan Williams rushed for 380 yards on 75 attempts averaging 5.1 yds/att and scored 5 touchdowns in 2008 including an 82 yard 2 touchdown performance against WVU before being benched for disciplinary reasons. Norman Whitley took over at that point and rushed for 698 yards and 4 TDs with a 4.9 yard average. With both players in the doghouse last year, and 2009's second leading rusher Brandon Jackson off the team, Giavanni Ruffin is the leading returning rusher from last season. Ruffin rushed for 308 yards and 5 TDs last year. Freshmen Michael Dobson and Alex Owah are also in contention for the starting job.

5. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Projected Starter: Jamad Williams, Sr.

Jamad Williams ran for just 389 yards and one touchdown last season, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He was the top running back for a Tulsa team that finished 6th in the conference in rushing due in large part to the rushing ability of QB G.J. Kinne and several WRs. Charles Opeseyitan (Jr.) ran for 218 yards and 2 TDs on 45 carries. The Golden Hurricane also return H-Back Charles Clay, who rushed for 236 yards and 7 touchdowns to go with 530 yards and 5 TDs receiving, and FB Willie Carter who added 165 yards and one TD. Tulsa has brought in a pair of talented Freshmen in Ja'Terian Douglas and DeMaro Nelson who could also grab some playing time.

4. Marshall Thundering Herd

Projected Starter: Martin Ward, So.

Marshall has a very capable in Martin Ward who returns from last years team. Ward spent the season backing up Darius Marshall who rushed for 1,131 yards and 11 TDs . Ward rushed for 393 yards and 3 TDs on his 82 touches for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Terrell Edwards also got some touches last year rushing for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns. Andre Booker saw limited action at RB gaining 73 yards on only 15 carries but was impressive as a return man. He averaged 20.4 yards per punt return and took one back for a TD. If 4 star recruit Travon Van can meet eligibility requirements he could have an impact in the Herd's backfield as well.

3. Houston Cougars

Projected Starter: Bryce Beall, So.

Last years leading rusher Charles Sims, who was named C-USA Freshman of the Year, has been ruled ineligible for the 2010 season. Sims had 698 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground to go with 70 receptions for 759 yards (4th on the team) and 1 TD. Bryce Beall returns though, and he had an impressive 2009 of his own. Beall rushed for 670 yards and 7 TDs averaging 4.8 yards/carry and added 311 yards and 3 TDs on 32 receptions. Justin Johnson added 84 yards and 2 TDs on 18 carries. Houston should be just fine with Beall at RB but it would have been nice to have had Sims back this year to create a good duo. Houston does add true freshman Xavier Brown, a 6ft 197 lb back with 4.5 speed, for 2010. An injury to Beall and the experience level really drops off, still it's an impressive unit overall especially considering Houston's reputation as a passing team.

Beall will be a crucial part of Houston's offense in 2010.

2. Central Florida Knights

Projected Starter: Brynn Harvey, Jr.

The Knights are one of two C-USA teams to return a 1,000 yard rusher in Brynn Harvey. As a Sophomore Harvey rushed for a rather impressive 1,109 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Behind Harvey, rising Sophomore Jonathan Davis rushed for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns with an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Also returning is RS Junior Ronnie Weaver who gained 86 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown. The Knights finished 8th in the conference in rushing in '09 but should improve greatly upon that ranking in 2010. UCF is one of the few teams in C-USA that make their living rushing the ball and playing defense and with the stable of backs they have in place they could be making a real push for the East Division this year.

1. UTEP Miners

Projected Starter: Donald Buckram, Sr.

Buckram was one of the most impressive players at any position in C-USA in '09. He led the conference in rushing yards and scoring and was second in all purpose yards. Buckram racked up 1,594 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground to go with 453 yards and 3 touchdowns receiving. His season was good enough to rank him 4th in the nation in rushing yards and 11th in all purpose yards. The downside for UTEP is that there isn't a ton of proven talent behind Buckram. Jason Williams (So.) was the Miners' second leading rusher a year ago with 126 yards and 5 TDs on 42 carries. Behind that there is no one of real signifigance returning. Still, with Buckram leading the unit the Miners' edge out UCF for the tops in C-USA as far as RBs go.

Conference USA Position Rankings Part 1: Quarterbacks

Quarterback is a crucial position in college football. Perhaps even more so in Conference USA where wide open, gunslinging, spread offenses are the norm. There have been some pretty good ones that have come through C-USA (David Garrard, ECU; Kevin Kolb, Houston; J.P. Losman, Tulane to name a few) and this year will feature one of the best statistically to play in the conference in Houston's Heisman hopeful, Case Keenum.

Lets take a look at how the others stack up in this pre season look at C-USA quarterbacks.

12. Rice Owls

Projected Starter: Nick Fanuzzi, (1,598 yds, 11 TDs, 8 INTs, 60% comp% in '09)

Newcomers: Taylor Cook, (Transfer from Miami,

Scout team member in '08)

Departed: John Shepherd (506 yds, 2 TDs, 5 INTs)

Positives: To be completely honest, there aren't many. Fanuzzi completed 60% of his passes in '09, which is good for 2nd all time in a single season in the Rice record books. That doesn't speak too well of Rice's history at the position

though as that was only good for 5th in C-USA last year. The Owls do bring in Miami Transfer Taylor Cook, who is a monster at 6-7 240.

Negatives: Nick Fanuzzi was dead last in passer rating in C-USA in '09 at 117.2. He completed 60% of his passes in '09 which is more than adequate, but those completions went for only 1,598 yds and 11TDs. His TD:INT ratio was an underwhelming 1.375:1. Behind Fanuzzi are Taylor Cook and RS Freshman Taylor McHargue, neither of which have taken a snap at the college

level.

11. Memphis Tigers

Projected Starter: Ryan Williams, Fr.

Newcomers: Cannon Smith, So./ Andy Summerlin, So./ Ryan Williams, Fr.

Departed: Will Hudgens (1,537 yds, 7 TDs, 6 INTs)

Positives: The Tigers will have a lot of new options at QB this year. Newcomers Cannon Smith (Miami transfer), Andy Summerlin (Coffeyville CC transfer), and true Freshman Ryan Williams could all have a shot. Williams is the apparent favorite for the starting job thus far. While starting a true Freshman at QB usually doesn't mean good things, Williams could be an exception. He

broke a slew of high school records in Fl, including breaking Tim Tebow's record for TD passes in the championship game with 5, on his way to leading MHS to their first ever state title. RS Freshman Will Gillchrist rounds out the deep QB pool for the Tigers in 2010.

Negatives: I know I just said that Williams could be the exception but more times than not a

true freshman QB is a recipe for disaster. If he can't get it done there isn't much proven talent behind him. Out of the 4 remaining QBs on Memphis' roster, only Bass has any experience. He has played in 6 games for the Tigers, 2 in '08 before suffering a knee injury and 4 in '09 before a shoulder injury. A back up QB that can't stay healthy doesn't help and Bass' 3:2 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions doesn't inspire much confidence either.

10. Tulane Green Wave

Projected Starter: Ryan Griffin, So.

Newcomers: Taylor Bullock, Fr.

Departed: None

Positives: Starter Ryan Griffin now has a year of experience under his belt. Griffin finished a respectable 7th in C-USA in passer efficiency rating as a RS Freshman. Backups Kevin Moore and Joe Kemp have experience too. Kevin more has played in 24 games at Tulsa including

starting all 12 games as a Sophomore in 2008. Joe Kemp played in 8 games in '09.

Negatives: Griffin passed for a paltry 153.6 yds/gm in 2009 and threw only 9 TD passes in 9 games with 6 interceptions. He isn't a mobile QB either with -59 yds on the ground last year an

d only one rushing touchdown. Moore and Kemp threw a combined 7 interceptions and only 4 touchdowns so there isn't a lot of offense to there to lean on if Griffin goes down.

9. UAB Blazers

Projected Starter: David

Isabelle, So.

Newcomers: None

Departed: Joe Webb

Positives: Isabelle does have some experience after playing

in all 12 games as a freshman last year. He completed 6 of 14 passes for 39 yds and a TD. The impressive part of Isabelle's game is his ability to run. He

averaged 9 yds per carry last season and was only stopped for a loss once in 32 carries. When your starting a new QB it's comforting to know that he can run away

from trouble instead of

throwing into coverage.

Negatives: Simple answer: Joe Webb is gone. Webb passed for

2,299 yds and 21 touchdowns and rushed for another 1,472 yds and

11 TDs. David Isabelle is the same style of QB but he is no where near as skilled, especially in this his sophomore season. He also hasn't thrown the ball much at the college level so things could be shaky

to start the season.

8. Marshall Thundering Herd

Projected Starter: Brian

Anderson, Sr.

Newcomers: none

Departed: none

Positives: Having a senior with experience at QB is always

a plus and that's exactly what the Herd have in starter Brian Anderson. Anderson averaged 203.5 yds/gm in 2009 which was good for 5th in the conference.

He isn't a dual threat QB but has enough mobility to buy time in the pocket or pick up a few yards if things break down. He also completed a very respectable 58% of his passes last season.

Negatives: Anderson finished 10th in C-USA with a passer efficiency rating of 119.0 last year. He threw way too many interceptions (13) and only 14 TDs. If Marshall is going to have any chance at

winning the East this year that ratio will need to improve drastically.

7. UCF Knights

Projected Starter: Rob Calabrese, Jr.

Newcomers: Jeffrey Godfrey

Departed: Brett Hodges (2,438 yds, 17 TDs, 13 INTs, 59.9)

Positives: Calabrese got experience in his first two years at UCF. Still I don't think he will hold on to the starting position for long. The Knights

snagged a very good QB on signing day in Jeffrey Godfrey. He amassed 7,251 career passing yards in high school, breaking Miami Hurricane Jacory Harris' record in Miami-Dade county.

He was ranked by many as the top QB prospect out of Florida and in the top 10 dual threat QBs in the nation.

Negatives: Calabrese has been less than impressive so far for the Knights. In 2009 he played

in 7 games completing 54.3% of his 46 passes for 260 yds and 3 TDs. Godfrey is undersized at 5'11" 176 lbs. If Calabrese can't improve on his prior efforts the Knights will have to throw the lean true

freshman into the fire.

6. SMU Mustangs

Projected Starer: Kyle Padron, So.

Newcomers: J.J. McDermott, Jr. (New Mexico St. Transfer)

Departed: B.L. Mitchell (1,725 yds, 12 TDs, 10 INTs, 56%)

Positives: Padron looked very impressive in his 7 games last season after taking over for Mitchell. He passed for 1,922 yds, 10 TDs and only 4 INTs while completing 67.2% of his passes. Keep in mind he did that as a true Freshman. He averaged over 276 yds/gm through the air which would have been second in conference if he had played enough games to qualify. Amazingly he would have been 5th in the nation in passer rating had he met the minimum number of games to qualify for that too. Kyle also has enough speed to take off and run when he needs to.

Negatives: At this point you may be wondering how I have this guy ranked 6th. I mean look at the stats he put up AS A FRESHMAN! Here's why: he is unproven. He has barely tasted FBS football so far. I'm not talking about the number of snaps he has taken. I'm talking about the fact that he might as well have been playing pop warner defenses last year. Of the 7 opponents he faced on '09, only one was ranked in the top half of the FBS in passing defense and they were 57th (Marshall). He faced 3 of the 4 worst pass defenses in Tulane (117th), Nevada (118th), and Rice (119th). He also faced UTEP (96th), Tulsa (89th), and Houston (67th). Color me unimpressed. He may have the best chance to move up these rankings during the season but as of now I'm not buying in to all the hype.

5. ECU Pirates

Projected Starter: Dominique Davis

Newcomers: Shane Carden, Fr./ Dominique Davis, Jr. (Fort Scott CC transfer)

Departed: Patrick Pinkney (2,947 yds, 15 TDs, 12 INTs, 58.9%)

Positives: The Pirates are getting a much needed upgrade at QB in 2010. Transfer Dominique Davis played the last 3 games for Boston College in 2008, including the Conference Championship game. In the CCG against Virginia Tech he threw for 263 yards and a touchdown in a loss. In 4 starts Davis threw for 741 yards and 6 touchdowns. At 6'4" 200 lbs with 4.4 speed, Davis will be able to make plays with his feet when no one is open. WR Dwayne Harris has lined up at quarterback from time to time in the wildcat formation. He had 149 yds and 5 touchdowns rushing last year, mostly from the QB position.

Negatives: Davis doesn't have a ton of FBS experience. He has only started 3 games and played sparingly in 3 others. He threw 4 interceptions to 6 touchdowns at BC and didn't have a whole lot of success running the ball, but for the most part he was facing tougher defenses in the ACC then he will in C-USA.

4. UTEP Miners

Projected Starter: Trevor Vittatoe, Sr.

Newcomers: D.J. Betik, Fr./ Javia Hall, Fr.

Departed: None

Positives: Vittatoe has look

ed very impressive in his career at UTEP. He passed for over 3,000 yards in each his 3 seasons. Last year he finished 2nd in the conference in passing yards and has been voted honorable mention All-Conference 3 years in a row. He has now thrown for 9,683 yards and 75 touchdowns in his career and should finish with most of the school records in passing.

Negatives: Last year was somewhat of an off year for Trevor, if you can call it that. He threw only 17 touchdowns to 13 interceptions after totaling 63 touchdowns in his first 2 seasons with the Miners. He also finished 6th in the conference in passer rating in '09 at 130.1.

3. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Projected Starter: G.J. Kinne, Jr.

Newcomers: None

Departed: None

Positives: Kinne finished the '09 season ranked 3rd in C-USA with 227.7 yds per game through the air. He was also 4th in the league in passer rating at an impressive 142.6. His 22 TD passes compared to only 10 interceptions shows that he can do damage while taking care of the ball. It doesn't hurt that he rushed for nearly 400 yards and scored 5 touchdowns on the ground either.

Negatives: Kinne can be streaky. When he's good he's really good, but when he's bad it can be ugly! Last year against SMU he was 2-10 for 10 yds, 2 INTs and was sacked 3 times. Even worse than that, against ECU in '09 he threw 2 pick sixes and fumbled a ball that was returned for a touchdown leading to the Golden Hurricanes getting routed by 27 points at home.

2. Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Projected Starter: Austin Davis, Jr.

Newcomers: Brett Broderson, Fr./ Chris Campbell, Fr.

Departed: none

Positives: The Golden Eagles can't really go wrong at QB this season. Martavious Young finished 3rd in the conference in passer rating in '09 at 145.7. His 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions where by far the best ration in the league. Young rushed for just under 300 yards in 10 games and averaged 4.1 yards a carry. All that and he may not even be the best QB on the roster. Austin Davis had an even better rating at 150.6 but with only 6 games played didn't qualify for the post season ranking. His 10 TDs to 2 INTs was just barely behind Young and he completed an incredible 69.2% of his passes. Davis can tuck and run when needed as well, though not as effectively as Young. There is nothing more comforting to a head coach than having 2 QBs that can perform at such a high level and protect the football.

Negatives: Neither Young nor Davis passed for an overly impressive amount of yards. Both were under 200 yds/gm with Davis at 194.2 and Young at 186.1. Young completed 57% of his passes which isn't bad but if I'm going to find negatives for a duo like this I'm going to have to nit pick a little. However, when your not turning the ball over you won't need gaudy numbers to pull out wins.

1. Houston Cougars

Projected Starter: Case Keenum, Sr.

Newcomers: Terrance Broadway, Fr.

Departed: none

Positives: 5,671 yards, 44 TDs, 70.3 completion %, 405.1 passing yds/gm. Those are the stats for Case Keenum in '09. Each of those are good for first in the conference. So is his 154.8 passer rating. Keenum should be in the hunt for the Heisman this season, especially if the Cougars win a couple more games than they did in last years campaign. Houston's backup doesn't seem likely to see much meaningful time next season barring an injury to Keenum but if he does the Cougars will be in capable hands. Cotton Turner completed 75% of his passes for 373 yards, 3 TDs and a passer rating of 178.1.

Negatives: Houston lost their last two games and 3 of the last 5 in '09 in large part due to Keenum's interceptions. Keenum was picked off 3 times by the Pirates in the C-USA championship game including a game clinching interception in the end zone with under 30 seconds to play. Then he threw 6 interceptions and only one touchdown against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Is it possible that throwing 50 passes a game took its toll by the end of the season? Still, Case had an amazing ride in '09 and will be the cream of the crop again in 2010.

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