Oregon coach Mike Bellotti has waffled a bit this week on the subject of how Jeremiah Johnson’s carries will be distributed among the remaining Oregon running backs.
In his post-game press conference Saturday, Bellotti was firm in his stance that the team’s ball distribution numbers would not change due to Johnson’s injury.
“We will do the same things that we’ve done. We will keep Jonathan healthy and excited,” he said. “I won’t say he’ll split time, but certainly we’ll try to do the same things to keep him fresh.”
But by Tuesday morning, his comments on the subject had taken on a different tone.
“Certainly Jonathan is going to have to pick up a little bit more of the load,” he said in his weekly press conference Tuesday. “And I think he’s very capable of doing that.”
I agree, and this is a good move by Oregon’s coach. Jonathan Stewart is, according to his comments, in the best shape of his career. Stewart’s rigorous off-season program has him in the physical condition to make him more than capable of picking up a few more carries.
And when a team leader goes down can you really expect one of the younger players to replace him? Or do you look to an established leader to step up his game even more?
I favor the latter. Replacing Johnson is impossible, and the team is better served by having Stewart try to shoulder an increased load. Though some small amount of the deceptive and unpredictable nature of the offense will surely be sacrificed, a contributing factor in that unpredictability was the fact that Johnson and Stewart are both proven quantities in the backfield.
Don’t get me wrong, sophomore running back Andre Crenshaw – the consensus replacement for Johnson among the coaches, though nothing has been set in stone yet – is an able receiver, blocker and rusher, but he is yet to be tested in crucial game situations. Freshman Remene Alston Jr. has even less experience.
I say give Crenshaw a portion of Johnson’s carries and an increased role in the offense, that he may have the opportunity to prove himself, but game plan to lean on Stewart.
Because, after all, that is the job of the top running back, to carry the ball as many times as his team needs him to. Stewart averages just 16.5 carries a game this season. With Dennis Dixon in the backfield getting a certain amount of the carries, he obviously can’t be expected to run the ball as many times as someone like Cal’s Justin Forsett, who averages more than 29 carries a game. I think somewhere between 20 and 25 carries a game might be a little more befitting a team’s “marquee” running back.
This season is within range of being an historic one for Duck football. Many college football analysts see Oregon as one of the most ideally situated one-loss teams to make a run for the national championship game, in terms of its current poll position and remaining schedule. With Johnson’s injury this possibility has been threatened, and the team now stands at a fork in the road. Lean on a young player and hope he can deliver, or put Stewart directly in every opposing defense’s crosshairs?
There’s no question that although Johnson was a key part of the offense, Stewart is considered this teams top threat running the football. The award watch lists and the local and national media attention he has garnered cement that perception.
He’s certainly earned it, now it’s time for him to prove it.
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