Dynamic duo keeps A&M backfield in motion
MIAMI — While working out this summer, Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane drifted back to a conversation with Texas A&M running backs coach Kenith Pope about some of the best backfield tandems to play college football.
While there were several to consider, the former Southern California duo of Reggie Bush and LenDale White seemed to them to be the quintessential tandem and the one most similar to their thunder-and-lightning combination.
So they went to the video room and broke out the film. Lots of it.
Lane watched intently as White plowed his way for tough yards. Goodson studied in amazement as Bush dazzled, danced and tortured the ankles of opposing defenders.
Both backs were instrumental in the Trojans' winning back-to-back national championships and nearly adding a third after the 2005 season, and now both are enjoying NFL careers.
"We just decided we wanted to do it one day," Goodson said of the film sessions. "We were looking at all the tandems and dual backs, and we just watched and saw what they did and how they got theirs.
"Both of them are in the NFL right now, so it isn't too bad to watch them."
Lane and Goodson have done their best to mimic USC's dynamic duo, joining what seems to be a growing number of quality running-back tandems across the country.
Arkansas' duo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones is perhaps the class of the college tandems for the second year in a row, but they are far from alone. West Virginia has a high-performing duo in Steve Slaton and true freshman Noel Devine, while Southern Cal appears on the verge of another big-time combo with Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable.
And tonight, when the 20th-ranked Aggies takes on Miami at the Orange Bowl, standing on the opposite sideline from Goodson and Lane will be the formidable young Hurricanes duo of sophomore Javarris James and true freshman Graig Cooper.
Two are better than one
The days of the single do-it-all back may not be over, but many teams are seeing the benefits of sharing the workload.
"If a guy is a big guy and you can offset things with throwing the football, you can get by a little more," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "But with the college season being 12 games crammed into basically 13 weeks, one guy is going to get pounded on pretty good, so you are going to need a second guy. We found that out last year.
"I think every coach will tell you that you've got to have at least two guys who can run the football — and not just run it, but be able to run the entire offense, whether it's catches, protection or whatever."
The obvious benefit is the chance to have a fresher running back on the field late in games. Interestingly, the players involved in shared backfields seem to be buying into the idea they can do more with fewer carries.
Pros don't mind
And if they want evidence that splitting time does not hurt their NFL opportunities, they need look no further than White and Bush and the former Auburn duo of Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown.
Each of those tandems entered the NFL together, and all four players were high picks, with White the only one to stick around until the second round of the 2006 draft.
James, who was Miami's workhorse last season before Graig Cooper came aboard this year, certainly seems to have bought into the idea of sharing the load.
"It definitely takes a lot of pressure off," James said to the Miami media. "Usually in the game you get tired or something, and you have to fight though it.
"But now I know if I get tired and I can't give 100 percent on the play, I know this guy is going to come in and do the same or better."
The Aggies have excelled at using Goodson and Lane to set each other up late in games. Last week, A&M used the 277-pound Lane to pound the middle early against Louisiana-Monroe, then followed with the speedier Goodson.
A&M did just the opposite against Fresno State a week earlier, giving Goodson his carries early before going to Lane — almost exclusively late in the fourth quarter and in the three overtime periods — to plow through the Bulldogs for the tough and necessary yards down the stretch.
"Sometimes you might get used to Jorvorskie's speed, and then all of sudden it's Goodson's speed," said Aggies
coach Dennis Franchione, whose team ranks fifth in the nation in rushing with 296.3 yards per game. "It's kind of been a nice combination, and our coaches have done a nice job of getting the guys in on plays that are best for them in our offense."
Goodson, who is coming off a 113-yard rushing performance against Louisiana-Monroe, has gained 247 yards and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry in three games this season. Lane is A&M's third-leading rusher with 195 yards and has a team-best seven rushing touchdowns.
"It is fun," Franchione said of the versatility Lane and Goodson bring to the offense. "If both guys were like Mike Goodson or both were like Jorvorskie, that would be OK, but having one of each gives you a little more versatility that you might not have in a normal situation."
Lane, a junior, realizes the Aggies are a better team because of the willingness of him and Goodson to share the backfield.
"Really and truly, every offense in the country would love to have me and Mike," Lane said.
Added Miami coach Randy Shannon: "One of them is more of an inside runner, and the other is an outside runner, which means one is a pounder and the other likes to get out in the open field and hit the corners. And when they both play at the same time, it's really hard to get a key on what they're doing."
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