Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Spring Position Update: Running Backs
3/21/2018 3:00:00 PM | Football
Raiders have deep backfield
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A position of turmoil has turned into one of great depth for Middle Tennessee.
Last season, the Blue Raider running back group went into spring practice with more questions than answers after the departure of single-season rushing king I'Tavius Mathers.
Then, in the summer just before the season opener against Vanderbilt, Terelle West, who had been penciled in as the probable starter, went down with a knee injury and missed half of the season.
In the end, the team was led in rushing by a two-headed backfield featuring a small freshman and a junior who at the beginning of the season was a linebacker.
This spring will have a different feel to it, as the team's top three rushers from last season return and another interesting piece will be thrown into the mix.
"We have a good healthy competition between all of our guys, and we like that we have different sizes and speed in our backs," third-year running backs coach Jeff Beckles said. "We have backs that we can throw into whatever the moment calls for.
"This spring, we're just looking for all of them to get better at their tasks and help the offense move the ball up and down the field."
Here are the running backs on the roster:
Power Four
Terelle West, R-Jr., 5-10, 200
West will likely be the frontrunner to grab the starting spot again if he can stay healthy, and the Blue Raiders should feel good about that.
He showed in 2017 what he can do when healthy, finishing the year with 308 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 57 attempts (5.4 yards per carry). He also led the team with 65 yards on 10 carries against Arkansas State in MT's Camellia Bowl victory, including a big 45-yard TD in the first quarter that helped set the tone.
The theme of his spring will be having a healthy few weeks, according to Beckles. West has missed eight games combined the past two seasons due to injuries.
"Terelle looks good after a whole year of trying to rehab and get back," Beckles said. "Having a healthy spring for him will be able to give us good competition."
Tavares Thomas, Sr., 6-0, 245
Thomas entered the 2017 season as a linebacker, but due to injuries to some of his teammates he made the move to running back six games into the year, the first time he'd played the position since being at Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Texas.
It didn't take long for Blue Raider fans to see Thomas' potential. Against FIU in his second game in the backfield, he took three of his six carries out of the Wildcat formation for scores. He then had a three-game stretch against UTEP, Charlotte and WKU in which he racked up 355 yards and five TDs on 56 carries.
Thomas ended the season second on the team with 458 rushing yards and led the way with eight TDs. The bruising back will have an important spring trying to carry over the momentum he gained late in the year.
"With Tavares, moving him over from defense last year was kind of a quick-fix thing, and now we're trying to teach him how to be a running back," Beckles said. "That's all aspects of the game at running back, whether it's running, blocking or catching the ball."
Brad Anderson, So., 5-8, 175
Joining Thomas as the other half of the duo dubbed "Smash-N-Dash" was Anderson, who was perhaps the unlikeliest of players to crack the lineup as a freshman last season when just looking at his stature.
After nabbing just six carries in the first three weeks of the season, the small Anderson was given the reigns the next seven games and showed toughness well beyond his 5-foot-8, 175-pound frame. Before an injury forced him to the sidelines in MT's last three games, he racked up a team-high 491 rushing yards and was second with 33 receptions, 338 receiving yards and three receiving TDs.
The Little General won't practice this spring due to surgery to fix an injured ankle, but he'll be tough to keep off the field once returning, as evidenced by his production last season.
"Brad isn't doing anything this spring with us, but he had a tremendous year his true freshman season," Beckles said. "That helps to create a pretty good room as far as depth is concerned."
Chaton Mobley, R-Fr., 6-1, 245
The linebacker-to-running-back experiment may have spotlighted Thomas last season, but it was actually Mobley who the Raiders first attempted it with before the big freshman went down with an injury.
Mobley came to MT from Fulton High School just outside of Knoxville as a linebacker with running-back pedigree, and after redshirting last season, he'll start this spring in the offensive backfield.
He was a force at Fulton, earning all-state honors in 2015 and 2016 and all-region in three straight years. He finished his high-school career with 1,235 rushing yards and 29 TDs as a running back to go with 183 tackles and 10.5 sacks on the defensive side. He was also the BlueCross Bowl defensive MVP in 2014 when the Falcons took home the Class 4A state title.
If Mobley can find a role with his big body like Thomas did last season, he could give the Blue Raiders an interesting second power punch. For whatever it's worth, he'll at least make defensive backs think twice about squaring up his 6-foot-1, 245-pound frame.
"Chaton was actually the first guy we switched over to running back, but injury was a big thing that kept him out last season," Beckles said. "Having both of those guys back there will give us a good healthy mix. He's an athletic kid … and he's a big back that will help us on the goal line."
Others
Maurice Gordon, R-Jr., 5-10, 200
Gordon entered last spring as maybe the Blue Raider running back with the most hype, but he never really got untrack and ended up taking a redshirt season.
He transferred to Middle Tennessee last spring from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, where as a sophomore in 2016 he earned All-SWJCFC honors after leading the team with 903 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to go with 23 receptions for 201 yards and three more scores.
The Denton, Texas, native was one of the most highly touted junior college running backs in the class, but only saw action in the season-opening Blue Raider loss to Vanderbilt.
Landon Board, R-Fr., 5-8, 172
Board took a redshirt year in 2017 in his first season as a Blue Raider.
The Owensboro, Kentucky, native was one of the best running backs to ever come out of Owensboro High School, finishing his career as the program's second all-time leading rusher with 3,609 yards.
As a senior at Owensboro, Board compiled 1,805 yards and 27 TDs, adding to 34 TDs and 1,804 yards in his junior season.
Last season, the Blue Raider running back group went into spring practice with more questions than answers after the departure of single-season rushing king I'Tavius Mathers.
Then, in the summer just before the season opener against Vanderbilt, Terelle West, who had been penciled in as the probable starter, went down with a knee injury and missed half of the season.
In the end, the team was led in rushing by a two-headed backfield featuring a small freshman and a junior who at the beginning of the season was a linebacker.
This spring will have a different feel to it, as the team's top three rushers from last season return and another interesting piece will be thrown into the mix.
"We have a good healthy competition between all of our guys, and we like that we have different sizes and speed in our backs," third-year running backs coach Jeff Beckles said. "We have backs that we can throw into whatever the moment calls for.
"This spring, we're just looking for all of them to get better at their tasks and help the offense move the ball up and down the field."
Here are the running backs on the roster:
Power Four
Terelle West, R-Jr., 5-10, 200
West will likely be the frontrunner to grab the starting spot again if he can stay healthy, and the Blue Raiders should feel good about that.
He showed in 2017 what he can do when healthy, finishing the year with 308 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 57 attempts (5.4 yards per carry). He also led the team with 65 yards on 10 carries against Arkansas State in MT's Camellia Bowl victory, including a big 45-yard TD in the first quarter that helped set the tone.
The theme of his spring will be having a healthy few weeks, according to Beckles. West has missed eight games combined the past two seasons due to injuries.
"Terelle looks good after a whole year of trying to rehab and get back," Beckles said. "Having a healthy spring for him will be able to give us good competition."
Tavares Thomas, Sr., 6-0, 245
Thomas entered the 2017 season as a linebacker, but due to injuries to some of his teammates he made the move to running back six games into the year, the first time he'd played the position since being at Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Texas.
It didn't take long for Blue Raider fans to see Thomas' potential. Against FIU in his second game in the backfield, he took three of his six carries out of the Wildcat formation for scores. He then had a three-game stretch against UTEP, Charlotte and WKU in which he racked up 355 yards and five TDs on 56 carries.
Thomas ended the season second on the team with 458 rushing yards and led the way with eight TDs. The bruising back will have an important spring trying to carry over the momentum he gained late in the year.
"With Tavares, moving him over from defense last year was kind of a quick-fix thing, and now we're trying to teach him how to be a running back," Beckles said. "That's all aspects of the game at running back, whether it's running, blocking or catching the ball."
Brad Anderson, So., 5-8, 175
Joining Thomas as the other half of the duo dubbed "Smash-N-Dash" was Anderson, who was perhaps the unlikeliest of players to crack the lineup as a freshman last season when just looking at his stature.
After nabbing just six carries in the first three weeks of the season, the small Anderson was given the reigns the next seven games and showed toughness well beyond his 5-foot-8, 175-pound frame. Before an injury forced him to the sidelines in MT's last three games, he racked up a team-high 491 rushing yards and was second with 33 receptions, 338 receiving yards and three receiving TDs.
The Little General won't practice this spring due to surgery to fix an injured ankle, but he'll be tough to keep off the field once returning, as evidenced by his production last season.
"Brad isn't doing anything this spring with us, but he had a tremendous year his true freshman season," Beckles said. "That helps to create a pretty good room as far as depth is concerned."
Chaton Mobley, R-Fr., 6-1, 245
The linebacker-to-running-back experiment may have spotlighted Thomas last season, but it was actually Mobley who the Raiders first attempted it with before the big freshman went down with an injury.
Mobley came to MT from Fulton High School just outside of Knoxville as a linebacker with running-back pedigree, and after redshirting last season, he'll start this spring in the offensive backfield.
He was a force at Fulton, earning all-state honors in 2015 and 2016 and all-region in three straight years. He finished his high-school career with 1,235 rushing yards and 29 TDs as a running back to go with 183 tackles and 10.5 sacks on the defensive side. He was also the BlueCross Bowl defensive MVP in 2014 when the Falcons took home the Class 4A state title.
If Mobley can find a role with his big body like Thomas did last season, he could give the Blue Raiders an interesting second power punch. For whatever it's worth, he'll at least make defensive backs think twice about squaring up his 6-foot-1, 245-pound frame.
"Chaton was actually the first guy we switched over to running back, but injury was a big thing that kept him out last season," Beckles said. "Having both of those guys back there will give us a good healthy mix. He's an athletic kid … and he's a big back that will help us on the goal line."
Others
Maurice Gordon, R-Jr., 5-10, 200
Gordon entered last spring as maybe the Blue Raider running back with the most hype, but he never really got untrack and ended up taking a redshirt season.
He transferred to Middle Tennessee last spring from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, where as a sophomore in 2016 he earned All-SWJCFC honors after leading the team with 903 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to go with 23 receptions for 201 yards and three more scores.
The Denton, Texas, native was one of the most highly touted junior college running backs in the class, but only saw action in the season-opening Blue Raider loss to Vanderbilt.
Landon Board, R-Fr., 5-8, 172
Board took a redshirt year in 2017 in his first season as a Blue Raider.
The Owensboro, Kentucky, native was one of the best running backs to ever come out of Owensboro High School, finishing his career as the program's second all-time leading rusher with 3,609 yards.
As a senior at Owensboro, Board compiled 1,805 yards and 27 TDs, adding to 34 TDs and 1,804 yards in his junior season.
Players Mentioned
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