Older Running Backs Primed to Push Back

- Joker Phillips recently said that some of the juniors are being pushed by the freshmen. He wasn't specific who those juniors were but competition often makes a competitor rise to the occasion and push back. Running backs Raymond Sanders, who when healthy is sound in every phase and Jonathan George, who has put his time in at this university and whose body looks the part of an SEC running back. Though he specified juniors it's probably safe to say senior Coshik is in a fight to hold on to the starting spot. But these guys have longevity in paying the price and they intend to be a hard case in repellant from the young backs separate themselves from the pack. Running backs coach Steve Pardue has often said he wouldn't mind if one of the running backs separates him from the pack but he said running back by committee, he wouldn't be averse to. "Because this is the SEC and you need more than one back to get through a season being they are going to get nicked up," Pardue explained.

In his first fall practice Raymond Sanders was impressing Derrick Locke with his quick ability and his desire and confidence to take Locke's position away from him. Sanders hit Commonwealth Stadium field for the first time in a scrimmage and the first impressive thing he showed was his ability to find the cutback lanes. Then with a couple of knee issues, he lost that ability. He said back in the spring that Rock Oliver had done a good job of building up his quads and he not only could he see the holes but once again he could get there. "I feel like it was like I wasn't one-hundred percent," Sanders lamented. "I wasn't able to explode like I once could. Now I have my explosion back and speed back so now I can get there. I'm just grateful I can get my body back and run like I use to. We asked Sanders if he is a leader like he once was. He said - "As a running back we consider ourselves leaders on the football team. I try to be a part of one of the hardest working groups on the team and me Skik (Coshik Williams) and Jon Jon (Jonathan George) come out and try to push the others. In the meantime we help the young backs to come along. We try to get everybody excited. This is football and that's what you are supposed to do, have fun doing it."

Coshik Williams is a special case in that the well documented story of him coming to the University from Hiram, Georgia is a beacon for others to see what determination and patience can do. Williams evidently wanted it very badly. He is a five-year senior who has seen his team defeat his home-boys. But for right now he earned a right to start at the running position on the 2011 team. We asked Williams about his lithe but wiry strong body and its ability to hold up to SEC physicality? “I been told all my life that I’m not big enough and I’m not hearing it,” said a 10-pound heavier Williams and who, Joker Phillips said might be the toughest guy on the team. Williams said he really likes the young guns and what they bring to the table, namely, physicality. But he is not receptive of either of them taking his position. “As a walk-on I have worked extremely to be a crunch-time contributor to this team.” Walk-ons should hold a special place in the heart of a football aficionado. Coming to a major college is such a roll, you have no sponsor and it’s like being lost in the woods without a compass.
So with the mixture of smaller, quicker and larger, physical backs, perhaps UK develops lightning and thunder in the backfield.