Wednesday, August 25, 2010

12 Positions in 12 Days: Runningback

Following our look at the current quarterback situation, we can now move our attention to the newest development in Temple's backfield. Prior to this week, sophomore running back Bernard Pierce was Temple's go-to-guy and the team's unofficial media spokesman. But after suffering an injury to his head, but not to the extent of being a concussion, Pierce has taken a step back not only in development, but on the depth chart.

The new #1 back (for now, however) is sophomore Matt Brown. The little guy, standing at just 5-foot-5, had a pretty solid freshman campaign, but was hidden behind Pierce's emergence last season. On 89 attempts, Brown compiled 529 yards and five touchdowns. His best games came in the final two regular season affairs against Kent State and Ohio. He ran through the Kent State defense all day, finishing with 156 yards and two touchdowns, and then followed that up with 172 yards and one touchdown against the Ohio Bobcats.

Brown averaged 5.9 yards per rush last season, which was just a tad bit higher then Pierce's average. Despite his low-key media attention, Brown is just as capable as Pierce is of carrying the load, and has similar characteristics of Darren Sproles in the NFL.

With Brown currently holding the top spot, Pierce is now stuck at second-string. However, no one can take away what he did in his freshman year. He eclipsed 1,000 yards, scored 16 times, and carried the ball 236 times. Not too bad for a freshman.

He surpassed 100-yards on six different occasions, and even topped out over 200-yards twice (212 @Toledo, 267 @Navy).

Together, Brown and Pierce make up a formidable backfield that will cause headaches for opposing defenses. They may not receive the attention that other backfield tandems receive, such as Virgina Tech's Darren Evans and Ryan Williams, or Alabama's Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, but that doesn't mean they aren't something to be fearful of. Just as Pierce took the nation by storm in 2009, expect these two guys to continue to break out onto the national scene.

Aside from Pierce and Brown, the Owls have two more backs on their depth chart. Redshirt sophomore Ahkeem Smith did not play in 2009, but recorded 26 yards on just 11 attempts back in 2008. Also competing for the third-sting spot is freshman Myron Myles, coming out of Ambler, Pennsylvania.

The backfield is composed of young talent that will continue to develop throughout the next few years. Both Brown and Pierce have a chance to hit 1,000 yards if given the right amount of opportunities, and if any of them were to suffer an injury, the Owls have confidence in Smith and Myles, as well.

Next up in 12 Positions in 12 Days: Fullback!

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