Share the load, share the wealth is the new norm in elite offenses
In pain, nursing a couple of cracked bones in his back, Bryce Petty understood the concept of playing less.
"I know exactly what you're saying," the Baylor quarterback said.
It has been a long slog for the Big 12's reigning offensive player of the year. Petty came out of high school so long ago that he was in the same recruiting class (2009) as second-year Jets quarterback Geno Smith.
During that time -- and before it -- sharing time became the thinking man's approach to the game. Particularly with skill players, specifically with tailbacks, the idea is to share playing time thus mitigating fatigue and ultimately reducing injuries.
"You never come into a place wanting to share time," Petty added. "You never come into a place going, 'I'm going to be No. 2.' You always want to be No. 1."
But sometimes common sense makes sense. Oregon goes into this week's showdown with Michigan State rotating three tailbacks, same as it has for years. Alabama's Nick Saban has won championships with a philosophy he began using with the Spartans in the 1990s. Mark Richt suggested this week he has his best set of tailbacks ever at Georgia.
Les Miles lured the country's best prep player with Leonard Fournette's full knowledge that LSU has perfected tailback by committee in Baton Rouge.
"It's always been our philosophy in managing that position to play more than one player because it is the position that has the shortest shelf life relative to your career," Saban said.
"I would rather have guys touch the ball 15 or 20 times for every game all year than a guy that has to be a workhorse and do it 30 to 35 times. At some point he's not the same guy."
His history backs him up. The conga line of Bama backs has been seamless under Saban. Mark Ingram begat Trent Richardson who begat Eddie Lacy who begat T.J. Yeldon. Add sophomore Derrick Henry and junior Kenyan Drake to the mix again this season.
The only Alabama rusher to average more than 20 carries since 2003 is Richardson in 2011. The practice has trickled down from the NFL, where there is a dearth of workhorses. The passing game has become more important. This is in part because the average career for an NFL running back is less than three years.
"Adrian Peterson is a freak," Georgia's Richt said, "but there aren't many like that."
Todd Gurley -- a national darling this week -- has gone from splitting time with friend Keith Marshall (and rushing for 1,385 yards in 2012) to perhaps being the next great workhorse for Richt. In between, Gurley battled ankle and thigh injuries, playing only 10 of 13 games in 2013.
That leaves a tasty rotation that includes freshmen Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. When asked if this might be his most talented group of tailbacks, Richt said, "It probably is. I usually don't make that statement because you're going to hurt somebody's feelings."
"[Tailbacks] are smarter than they used to be," he added. "They want to share the load with somebody. I don't think anybody wants to carry it for 30 times a game for their entire career."
It's almost as if the college football world has to be reminded Oregon is -- at its heart -- a power running offense. Mark Helfrich's program is tied for second nationally among Power 5 schools with 11 1,000-yard rushing performances since 2001 (Wisconsin is No. 1 with 13).
Chip Kelly -- and lately Helfrich -- have perfected the art of sharing the ball. In 2008, the difference between No. 3 rusher Jeremiah Masoli (quarterback) and leader Jeremiah Johnson was only 35 carries.
Since that year there have been 16 rushing seasons of at least 500 yards spread among eight Ducks. Oregon hasn't finished out of the top nine in rushing since 2006. That's also the last year the Ducks didn't have at least one 1,000-yard rusher.
"That's the way we deploy them, in any spot at any time," Helfrich said. "It could be a couple of games, it could be half a season before a guy gets a huge role, before a guy has the ball in his hands.
"It's all going to add up at some point."
Some rivals have turned spread-the-wealth against the Ducks in recruiting, Helfrich said.
"Not-enough-balls-to-go-around kind of stuff ...," he said. "You're not going to be the focal point, the man, the guy."
Tell that to LaMichael James, a Heisman finalist in 2010 and the Ducks' career rushing leader. Or Kenjon Barner or D'Anthony Thomas. Oregon has had backs drafted three consecutive years.
Michigan State is almost a two-touchdown underdog this week, in part because of the Ducks' depth. Junior Byron Marshall ran for 1,000 yards last year. He will be backed up in the rotation by sophomore Thomas Tyner and freshman Royce Freeman. Combined, career: More than 6 yards per carry.
Baylor has been called the Oregon of Central Texas. Coach Art Briles began developing his version of the zone-read offense decades ago at Stephenville (Texas) High School. Lately, it is as lethal and productive as Oregon's.
The past four seasons have featured at least a 3,500-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher. This year sophomore Shock Linwood and Devin Chafin as well as redshirt freshman Johnny Jefferson are trying to replace speedster Lache Seastrunk and power back Glasco Martin.
"It's hard, quite honestly," Briles said of recruiting players with the prospect of sharing time.
"Instead of getting 24 carries they might have gotten 15 years ago, now they might get eight each," he said. "You don't want to be overused, you don't want to beat your body up blocking in an open-style offense."
They all seem to co-exist, part of an assembly line that almost guarantees success for those patient enough to climb the depth chart.
"If you want to be the best, you've got to compete with the best," said Phil Savage, a former NFL general manager and Senior Bowl executive director.
Savage, also Alabama's color analyst, suggested coaches challenge recruits with the lure of having to compete for a job.
"I think that's a huge selling point," Savage said. "They say, 'If you come here as a running back, we've shown we know how to split reps. You're still going to get your carries. You're still going to get your shot at the NFL.'"
Watching all this impassively in retirement is Chris Ault. His program, Nevada, has produced the most 1,000-yard rushing performances in all of FBS since 2001 with 14. Ault, 68, stepped away in 2012 after three different terms as Wolf Pack coach spanning 28 years.
He was both old school and an innovator. His Pistol offense, invented in 2005, has seeped into every corner of football. It is a hybrid of the zone read where the quarterback lines up in the shotgun closer to the line of scrimmage.
Unlike today's trend, Ault liked to pound his best runner. Vai Taua carried it 711 times from 2007-10. Stefphon Jefferson averaged almost 30 carries a game in 2012.
But in 2007, Ault recruited one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in history. In 2009, Colin Kaepernick was one of three Nevada players to rush for more than 1,000 yards. That was a first in college football history.
"It all lies in the beholder of the goal, how you use that word 'share' ...," Ault said. "There's no question the philosophy has changed [but] winning solves everything."
>> Want more Week 2 coverage? Expert Picks
Related Links
