A&M will sift through stack of backs in summer
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M has two scholarship running backs on campus this spring, including one who converted from receiver over the holidays.
If all goes according to Jimbo Fisher’s plan, the Aggies should be able to field a basketball team of running backs this summer, including a sixth man. And from Fisher’s description, the gaggle of backs would be solid at that sport, too.
“They all can catch, and they all have different skill sets,” said Fisher, entering his third season as A&M coach. “The diversity at that position will be really good.”
Hit by a handful of transfers in the past six months and a career-ending injury to promising sophomore Vernon Jackson last spring, running back in December easily was the Aggies’ biggest question entering an otherwise promising season for A&M fans.
Fisher believes that question has been soundly answered with what will be six scholarship running backs on the roster in August — starting with the two guys who’ve already torn up grass at Kyle Field: sophomores Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith.
“Isaiah had a great year,” Fisher said of the former Klein Collins star who took over as starter for an injured Jashaun Corbin early in September. “He’s big, physical and strong, and it’s amazing how guys can grow in that second year, especially after already being on the field.”
Spiller finished with 946 rushing yards, averaging 5.4 per carry. Smith, a Dulles product, excelled early for the Aggies at receiver but caught Fisher’s attention during the season with his toughness and ability to break tackles after the catch. Fisher shifted Smith to running back for the Texas Bowl out of necessity, and the shift has stuck.
“He is as natural back there as the day is long,” Fisher said of Smith, younger brother of NFL cornerback Maurice Smith. “He’s at 192 pounds right now but will end up being a 195-,196pound guy who can carry the ball. And not just catch the ball as a back, but he can run routes. There’s a big difference in that and how you can match him up.
“His skill set really allows you to do a lot of things.”
Meantime, Fisher is expected perhaps this week to name a running backs coach to replace Jay Graham, who left for his alma mater Tennessee.
The Aggies, whose 2020 class ranks No. 6 nationally according to 247Sports.com, also signed Devon Achane of Fort Bend Marshall and Deondre Jackson out of Stone Mountain, Ga., in the early signing period before Christmas.
Achane earned offensive player of the year honors from the Touchdown Club of Houston this winter after rushing for 2,097 yards and 38 touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 10 more touchdowns.
“With Achane, you can put him in the backfield, you can get him his carries, you can get him flexed out, you can get him reverses and returns,” Fisher said. “Those guys can change numbers on the scoreboard.”
Spiller is bullish at 6-1 and 220, while Smith and Achane (5-9, 176) are sub-200-pound backs who are as apt to scoot around defenders as try to run over them. Jackson (5-11, 211) is more in the Spiller mold, and so is Darvon Hubbard, added to the class in the traditional signing period early this month.
The listed weight of the 6-foot Hubbard is 195, but Fisher said he was around 220 pounds when he pledged to play for Ohio State in the summer of 2018. Hubbard, out of Surprise, Ariz., backed off his commitment to the Buckeyes a year ago following the retirement of Urban Meyer, and he wound up choosing the Aggies.
“He’s going to get bigger (again),” Fisher said. “He’s got great hands and runs with great leverage and power. He’s strong, physical and very intelligent, and we were (recruiting) him for a long time. We need depth at (running back), but we’d have taken him no matter how many backs we’ve got.”
The Aggies also expect to add Kilgore College’s Earnest Crownover III in August, with the plan of the former Grandview High standout counting toward the class of 2021. Crownover stuck with his pledge to A&M this winter despite a late push from Baylor, where his father, Jojo Crownover, played in the 1980s.
“I’m ready to be in College Station,” the younger Crownover posted to Twitter this winter.
The Aggies in turn are ready for him to be in College Station, along with three more newcomers few anticipated a year ago. Spiller, Smith and the new crew will take the place of transfers Cordarrian Richardson, Jacob Kibodi, Deneric Prince and Corbin and the injured Jackson.
“We’re off to a good start with that group,” Fisher said.