Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications


NORFOLK, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of not just all collegiate spring sports seasons, but also all off-season practices and team workouts for the time being. That includes spring football practice and intrasquad scrimmages.

In lieu of reports from spring practice, NSUSpartans.com will instead give a breakdown of each position grouping for Spartan football in the coming months. This week features the running backs.

Suffice it to say that the 2019 season did not play out the way running backs coach B.T. Sherman could have envisioned for his unit. The Spartans had a pair of experienced seniors heading up the preseason depth chart in Aaron Savage and Gerald Hulett Jr. Savage, a 2019 team captain, led the Spartans in rushing in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Hulett was a key backup in 2018 who was looking for a breakout senior season.

But then the injury bug bit. Both Savage and Hulett were dinged with nagging injuries that affected them for long stretches of the season. True freshman Rayquan Smith was also slowed by an injury in preseason camp.

Enter another true freshman: Kevin Johnson. Originally recruited as a walk-on defensive back, Spartan coaches moved him to running back during camp.

"The first time we saw him with the ball in his hands in camp, we thought we had something special," Sherman said.

All Johnson did was go on to lead the Spartans in rushing, posting 468 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns, eight rushing and three receiving. He earned third-team All-MEAC honors after ranking among the conference's top 10 in all-purpose yardage and scoring.

Johnson provided the Spartans with a home run threat, scoring multiple touchdowns of over 30 yards in length – including a school-record-long 84-yarder at nationally-ranked Montana State. He was also named the VaSID State Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Spartans' health situation came to a head against North Carolina A&T, as Johnson sat out due to an injury and Hulett was injured on his first carry and left the game. Enter Smith, who had recovered from his earlier injury. All "Rabbit," as he is known, did was take his first collegiate carry 62 yards.

"Rayquan went from possibly being a redshirt due to injury, to being thrown in the fire," Sherman said. "But he got better each week. I'm excited to see what's next for him because he made so much progress."

The Spartans' ground game thrived over the last half of the season. NSU averaged 194.7 rushing yards per game as the Spartans went 4-2 over the final six games. Smith posted a pair of 100-yard games during that time, Johnson scored seven touchdowns, and Hulett got into the act with an 84-yard, two-touchdown game in his career finale against South Carolina State.

Sherman credits not just his two precocious freshmen, but the leadership of Savage and Hulett in helping revitalize the rushing attack.

"Everybody played well. The key thing was everyone accepted their new role and embraced it," Sherman said. "The older guys mentored the younger guys mentally, and the younger guys took it in and physically were able to do what older guys couldn't because of injury."

Now, Sherman is looking for Johnson and Smith – who combined for 898 rushing yards last year – to take the next step in their development. According to Sherman, that means more experience learning the position for Johnson.

"With Kevin, he hadn't played running back much, let alone playing it within our scheme. So we want him to gain more of an understanding of how that position works within our system," Sherman said. "Sometimes he'd look for the big play when it wasn't there, and that comes with experience. We also want him to get more physical in pass-blocking, but the sky is the limit for him."

For Smith, who totaled 430 rushing yards in seven games, taking the next step means playing with more confidence and assertiveness, according to Sherman.

"We want to see Rayquan be even more explosive. At times he played tentative when he didn't have to. I don't think he realized just how explosive he can be," Sherman said. "He improved a lot as the season went along and started to build that confidence."

While missing out on spring practice is a setback for the two young backs and their teammates, Sherman knows their best days are ahead of them.

"It's up to me to let them be the playmakers that they are," Sherman said. "If we can get them to the second level (of the defense) clean, they will hit home runs naturally. If we keep them in their comfort zone, they can be among the best in the country."

The Spartans will also get a big boost from the return of Cameryn Brent, who will be a redshirt senior this fall. Brent missed all of last season due to an injury he sustained in the 2019 spring football game. As part of a three-headed rushing attack with Savage and Hulett in 2018, Brent was second on the team with 279 rushing yards and two scores.

"Cam is very physical and can wear you down," Sherman said. "He's got big shoes to fill in Savage and Hulett – he's got to do what those two did as far as their mental and physical approach. But he's going to wear down the defense and that makes everyone in the room better."

NSU's only new scholarship recruit at running back is Jarin "J.J." Davis. Davis redshirted as a freshman at the University of Cincinnati last fall before deciding to transfer. As a senior at Colerain High School in Cincinnati, Davis was a first-team All-Greater Miami Conference and second-team All-Cincinnati Enquirer selection who rushed for 715 yards and nine touchdowns on just 69 carries.

"J.J. is really dynamic and may be our fastest back," Sherman said. "He was a three-year starter in high school so he comes in with a lot of experience at the position. He can also help us in the return game from day one."

NSU coaches have also moved Chris Butler from receiver to running back. Butler, who redshirted last year, was an All-Metro selection as a high school senior who Sherman thinks can also make an impact.

"Chris is one of better all-around athletes on team," Sherman said. "He could be a good third-down back for us because he's physical, can run the outside runs and catch the ball out of the backfield. I think he will also be a good special teams player for us."

Sherman said he would also look to add some more depth from the high school ranks, possibly through walk-on additions. As last year proved, you can never have too much depth at any position.

Sherman is eager to see how the 2020 season plays out for his protégés.

He added: "Top to bottom, I think we can have one of the best running back rooms in the FCS."