UWF football's run game finally breaks free thanks to C.J. Wilson's 'electric playability'

C.J. Wilson was just waiting for his opportunity.

Wilson was the University of West Florida football team’s third running back in 2022, sitting being Shomari Mason and Ra’veion Hargrove.

Mason was the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 2021 before breaking his own record last year with 1,104 yards rushing. He had eight touchdowns on the ground. Hargrove wasn’t far behind with 843 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Both players have since left UWF – with Hargrove now playing running back at Texas A&M-Commerce – and Wilson is now in the spotlight as the Argos’ top running back.

“I was just ready for when my time came,” Wilson said. “The work has been the same. … I was waiting for the opportunity to present itself – and it did.”

“He knew that he had a good chance to be the top guy, and we knew he was very talented and able to do that,” head coach Kaleb Nobles said. “You watch C.J. and you know the talent is there, the speed is there, the electric playability is there. … He’s been very committed to what we want to do and what we want to be as a program. I’m very excited about him, and moving forward in the future with him.”

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It’s not to say Wilson didn’t have a successful junior season in 2022. He still ran for 531 yards in 13 games on 84 attempts, though he scored the most times for the Argos on the ground with 12 touchdowns – which is a school record. That included a three-touchdown night against Mississippi College on Oct. 22.

All but one of his touchdowns were within 20 yards. He did break off a 40-yard score against Shorter University late in the contest. But possibly his most meaningful touchdown was a 1-yard run against Delta State in the second round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship, which wound up being the game-winning touchdown before a 39-yard pick-6 from Anthon Johnson sealed the game.

“We all really complemented each other,” Wilson said of last year’s running back room. “We all had different roles with different play styles. We all fed off each other.”

It’s a similar style this year where the running backs all are used in different situations. The Argos, who broke the 1,000-yard mark for rushing yards as a team on Saturday against Shorter University, have scored 17 times on the ground this season.

Wilson (342 yards) and Jamontez Woods (283 yards) have seen the bulk of the action throughout the season. Jalen Bussey has 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns in five games. He scored on a 57-yard run up the middle at North Greenville University to close out the game.

Wilson has scored four touchdowns this season – with two against West Georgia – while Woods has added a trio of scores.

T.J. Lane saw some action against Shorter, scoring on a 3-yard run after running for 50 total yards on the drive.

“I want everybody around me to eat. … I want everybody to be great. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport,” Wilson said. “I mean, everybody’s got individual goals. But I just want everybody around me to get better. That helps us win.”

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“Everybody in that room is hungry and wants the ball. If we didn’t have guys like that, then I’d be a little bit worried about that room. … They do a great job of pushing each other every day,” Nobles said. “They’ve stepped up to the call whenever their number has been called. I’m excited about C.J. and the entire running back room.”

UWF’s running game finally had a breakthrough on Saturday against Shorter, with the team posting a season-high 299 yards rushing. Wilson led the charge with 126 yards and a touchdown, and that included a long run of 36 yards that he scored on. Woods added 98 yards and a touchdown with a long run of 48 yards.

Lane finished the game with 58 yards and a touchdown, while Peewee Jarrett ran for 17 yards.

Nobles said there wasn’t anything different about the running backs against the Hawks – but the offensive line, with some different gap schemes, created good spaces for the running backs to take advantage of.

“We’ve had some close plays where I’ve been telling these guys, ‘Hey, we’re one guy away from breaking a big run for a touchdown,’” Nobles said after Saturday’s game.

But Wilson has slowly become a multi-dimensional threat. Wilson was already a “great pass-catching” running back, Nobles said. He’s had five receptions for 23 yards this season. With the addition of running backs coach Joe Wintrick – a former offensive lineman for the Argos, who coached at UWF from 2020-22 before returning this year with Nobles – he’s been able to instill a better blocking game.

Wilson added that he already had the run game knowledge and ability to see the gaps created by the offensive line, but now he sees it “more naturally.”

“You learn a lot more like the fundamentals of blocking, how to hit the right holes, follow the holes correctly. You see stuff a little better, getting that perspective from a former offensive lineman,” Wilson said. “Blocking, especially, showing the techniques and fundamentals of that. I’d say that’s one of the areas I needed to grow the most. And I’ve been getting better for sure.”

“C.J.’s really been able to help set up the blocks because he’s hearing it from a former offensive lineman’s perspective,” Nobles said. “Coach Wintrick knows the angles and the gaps that he’s able to set up. … I think they enjoy each other and work well together.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football finds success in run game against Shorter University