Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Who is Coatesville’s greatest running back?
An astute purveyor of football strategy — particularly on the offense side of the ball — Bill Zwaan has observed the evolution of the running back with great interest.
“It has evolved, no question about it,” he acknowledged. “We rarely have two backs in the backfield in the college game.”
A quarterback at the University of Delaware and an offensive-minded head coach at Widener and now West Chester, Zwaan’s ‘Spread Wing-T’ offense has been rolling up yards and points for well over two decades. In fact, the Golden Rams have averaged 400-plus yards of offense per game in 12 of the last 14 seasons, and WCU always seems to have a highly productive featured runner.
“When people watch us, they say we throw the ball pretty well and do a lot of things off the throwing game,” Zwaan said. “But when we are running the ball well, that’s when we have our great offenses.”
Since taking over the reins in 2003, Zwaan has had six different 1,000-yard running backs, including senior star Jerel Elder, who went for 1,013 a year ago. Others on the list include consensus All-American Rondell White, Brandon Monk, Osagie Osunde, Brent Steinmetz and Mike Eckmeyer.
“In college, running back is still a big piece,” said Elder, who gained 127 yards of total offense per game in 2016. “If you have a featured back that can do everything, then your offense is that much better.
“In the pros, we don’t see the 6-foot-3, 240-pound backs any more. You see more of the little, shifty guys who can catch the ball out of the backfield and do something with it in space.”
The biggest shift, according to Zwaan, is the rise of the spread offenses, which has just about eliminated the fullback position.
“It’s a one-back system for pretty much everybody, and that one back has to be able to pass block and catch the ball,” he pointed out. “It does take a different type of guy now, but that guy is still getting the ball a lot like he used to in the I-formation.”
Make no mistake: the position has evolved, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a huge part of most college attacks. At just 5-foot-7, 165-pounds, Elder is clearly a new-wave kind of running back. He is dangerous in space, whether he is running or catching the football. And despite his build, Elder is durable. Last season he average 18.3 rushing attempts per game.
“Speed turns into momentum,” Elder explained. “I’ve never been a big guy, so I’ve learned to use my body, whether it’s juking or getting lower, that’s my game. For me, I try to get through creases the bigger backs can’t get through and then I explode.”
And if Elder gets tired, WCU can turn to an impressive stable of quality backups like juniors Mike Class and Mark Dukes. Both would likely be starters at a number of rival programs in the PSAC.
“We’ve got a lot of really good running backs and we are always trying to figure out ways to get them on the field,” Zwaan said.
While recruiting Elder out of Allentown Parkland, the West Chester coaching staff knew he was a special player, despite being a bit undersized.
“We had no concerns about his size because of the way he carried himself on the field,” Zwaan recalled. “The only issue was whether he could carry the ball 25 times like Rondell White or Brandon Monk.
“But Jerel is actually stronger than both of those guys were and he is lower to the ground so it is harder to get a good shot on him. That’s why he is able to take a lot of hits.
“He is explosive, he knows the offense well and he is a leader. He is a born leader and our guys follow him.”
The Rams primarily employ the shotgun snap, which is now becoming the norm at the college level across the country. That means that Elder routinely shares the backfield not with a fullback but with the quarterback.
“I tell the quarterbacks that I like to think of myself as ‘QB2’ back there,” he laughed. “I like to know what everybody is doing, from the O-line to the receivers and even the quarterbacks.
“Knowing where everybody else is going helps me know where I am going.”
At the NFL level, dominant runners have faded as surely as the impact of the quarterback has blossomed. And that phenomenon has undoubtedly filtered down in to the college game.
“I think it’s still a value in the NFL to have a good runner, but because there is only one back so much now, there are a lot of guys who can do that position and only one spot for them,” he pointed out. “So you don’t have to necessarily spend a first round draft pick on that guy because you can find him in later rounds or in free agency.”
Zwaan still believes, however, that runners can still carry a team at the college level. But it sure helps if that player is a very special, versatile talent.
“Delly (Rondell White) did it a couple years ago,” he said. “He did it because he could catch the ball so well. He was intricate in all phases of the offense. And if you have a guy that can do that, he can certainly carry a team.”