Throwing a Curve
April 01, 2004 10:36 AM | General
April 1, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Pay close attention to who’s running the football this year because it might not be who you think it is. Believe it or not, tailback-turned-fullback Hikee Johnson is getting carries this spring and it’s something he hopes carries over into the fall.
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| Senior Hikee Johnson is hoping to get some carries this year at fullback. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
“I’m trying to make the coaches see what I can do and hopefully they will put things in there that we can use to counter against some teams,” said Johnson.
Running the fullback would certainly constitute a counter. Since Rich Rodriguez took over the West Virginia program in 2001 his offenses have run 2,777 plays. Of those 2,777 plays called by Rodriguez, the fullback has touched the football a grand total of six times. That’s S-I-X, six.
Fullback Moe Fofana, really more of an offensive guard, got two carries as a junior in 2002. He also caught two passes that season and added another reception last year. Backup fullback Lanfer Simpson had a 19-yard run against Tennessee-Chattanooga in the 2002 opener. That’s it.
Mountaineer fullbacks have a better chance of hitting the Powerball than touching the football. But if spring drills are any indication, Johnson is about to change that.
“I’m going to try and make them put it into the offense,” he said.
Of all the video tape cut-ups opposing defensive coaches will peruse this year analyzing the Mountaineer offense the last thing in the world they will consider defending is West Virginia’s fullback.
Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior, sees that as an advantage.
“The coaches are trying to throw a little curveball at the defenses by giving the fullback the ball. I don’t have a problem with that at all,” he said.
He shouldn’t. After all, Johnson, a highly touted former prep standout at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa., came to West Virginia with every intention of carrying the football frequently for the Mountaineers.
Johnson transferred to WVU after spending a short period of time at Virginia, and soon got caught up in West Virginia’s tailback logjam that included standouts Avon Cobourne and Quincy Wilson.
There was just simply no room for Johnson his first three years in the program.
He earned his first carries as a sophomore in 2002, toting the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scoring a touchdown against Tennessee-Chattanooga. Last year Johnson got his hands on the ball four times for 40 yards.
It wasn’t what Johnson expected when he transferred to West Virginia but he isn’t complaining about it either.
“I took it how it was,” Johnson said. “I came in here as a guy who originally didn’t decide to come to school here. I found a home and I like it. I don’t have any complaints and I’ve just had to wait my turn like most people do.”
Rodriguez for one is appreciative of Johnson’s attitude. The coach made it a point to single out Hikee’s unselfishness during his address to the media before the start of spring practice.
“Hikee Johnson is really a tailback and now he’s our starting fullback,” said Rodriguez a few weeks ago. “How often do we play the fullback? Not as much as the tailback but he’s still going to play. Everybody has got to understand their role and be more interested in doing that and he’s a great example because he does things unselfishly and he doesn’t complain.”
In order to get ready for his position switch this spring, Johnson has had to work extra hard in the weight room to prepare for the additional demands of playing fullback. The added weight and muscle is apparent to all.
On one play earlier this spring Johnson completely wiped out true freshman defensive back Antonio Lewis. “Welcome to college football,” said fellow defensive back Pac-Man Jones.
“He saw the entire galaxy on that play,” added Rodriguez.
Johnson has had other notches on his helmet this spring as well.
“It’s fun out here,” he said. “I’m flying around hitting guys and guys are hitting me. This is what it’s all about.”
Because Johnson is a former tailback, blocking is something he’s had to get used to. And while he’s not nearly as big as his predecessors, he believes he can still get linebackers and defensive backs to the ground.
“Those guys were big and they could block but I think I’ve worked a lot on my blocking,” he said. “I think I’m fundamentally sound. I might not weigh as much as those guys but I’ve got the heart to do it and the coaches have the faith in me to do it. I’m going to make the most of my opportunity and try and do the best I can.”
Johnson says moving from tailback to fullback has other advantages, too.
“One compliments the other,” he reasoned. “Being a tailback for most of my career I kind of know what to expect from a fullback. Knowing that helps the running back more.”
Still, Johnson can’t wait for the opportunity to have the ball slipped into his stomach when defenses are geared up to stop West Virginia’s tailbacks.
Whether or not Rodriguez decides to make the fullback a more integral part of the offense remains to be seen. But at the very least, it gives defensive coordinators just one more thing to worry about.
Notebook: Because of the rainy conditions Wednesday afternoon the team worked out indoors in helmets and shorts … Wednesday’s practice was the sixth of 15 this spring, which includes the Gold-Blue Spring Game set for Saturday, April 17 … WVU is off today and will resume practice on Friday … the Mountaineers’ first big scrimmage of the spring is slated for Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field … West Virginia coaches will conduct their annual coaches clinic on Friday and Saturday.
