High Performance

Banks, Fenner fuel Dukes' running game

In the 2004 season, new offensive coordinator Jeff Durden says he will craft an offense that concentrates on passing and getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly. However, this doesn’t mean that JMU’s running backs will be spending all their time on the bench.

"We (the running backs) fit into the scheme a lot as far as first protecting, then getting out as a check-down route," running backs coach Ulrick Edmonds said. "When you’ve got backs that can catch the ball and are elusive like the ones we have, good things always happen. We’re looking for a matchup where we can get our S-back or our tailback on a linebacker. We think we’ll win that 95 percent of the time."

The S-back is a new designation that literally means "super back," a running back that can fill multiple roles.

"We call the position the S-back because you have to be a super player," Durden said. "A player who can run, catch, block and pick up the blitz."

In 2003, then-red-shirt freshmen running backs Alvin Banks and Maurice Fenner combined for over 1,500 yards rushing. Banks, the starter, set the JMU freshman record for rushing yards in a season, gaining 895.

Red-shirt junior running back Raymond Hines contributed 199 yards on the ground last season and also is returning. Antoinne Bolton, a red-shirt freshman from Virginia Beach, rounds out the running backs for the coming year.

"We’re going to be balanced [between running and passing]," Edmonds said. "We’re going to try to keep the other defenses off balance. We have to attack the parts, not the whole defense."

"It looks like a lot of passing," Fenner said, "but it’s a lot of running, too."

The running backs will be called on to help in the passing game as well. Banks had the sixth most receptions (10) and fifth most receiving yards (112) for the Dukes last season.

"Alvin sometimes can go to wide receiver," Edmonds said. "So that gives us a little flexibility as far as defenses keying in on different personnel formations and different personnel groupings that we might have."

The starting running back has yet to be named and the possibility exists of Banks and Fenner splitting time again this season.

"We were doing it last year, we’ve been doing it this year," Banks said. "It isn’t anything new to us. We’re going to have to work together."

Edmonds agrees, citing JMU’s deep backfield as a reason for them to be successful in 2004.

"I can say, because of experience, Alvin, Maurice and Raymond have an edge on Antoinne just because he’s a young [running] back," Edmonds said. "What we’re looking for is for one of those guys to emerge as the running back. It’s every running backs coach’s dream to have two 1,000-yard backs in a season. We have the guys that are capable enough to do that."