Sharing the wealth requires a delicate balance.
First and foremost, if a team wants to feature four running backs, there must be four capable enough of getting the job done. After that, it takes selfless teammates willing to sacrifice carries for the greater good.
Welcome to Colorado’s running backs room.
Coming off an impressive showing during the Buffaloes’ season-opening win last week at Georgia Tech as CU unveiled its new Go-Go offense, the running backs will aim for a repeat performance in the home opener against Weber State on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN+).
Three different CU running backs received at least 10 carries at Georgia Tech in a rushing effort among the Buffs’ best since Deion Sanders took over ahead of the 2023 season.
“This is a brotherhood,” second-year running back JaQuail Smith said. “Us bonding off the field, we just want to see each other win. If Micah (Welch) is having a good game, we just want to see Micah (do well). It might just take some carries off your name, but we just want to see Micah eat. Whatever to do to win.”
Welch, the Buffs’ leading rusher last year at just 384 yards (32.0 per game), received the starting nod back in his home state against Georgia Tech and scored the Buffs’ first touchdown of the season on a 5-yard run early in the second quarter.
Welch finished with 58 yards on 13 carries but was just one cog a CU run game that posted 183 yards. The two backs who followed first-year offensive coordinator Brennan Marion from Sacramento State, Smith and Damian Henderson II, turned in solid Buffs debuts, with Smith recording 42 yards on 10 carries and Henderson topping the Buffs’ rushers with 65 yards on 12 carries.
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DeKalon Taylor didn’t enjoy the same volume in the run game, finishing with a solid 22 yards on only four carries, but his 17-yard reception on the first play of Buffs’ late touchdown drive set the stage for CU’s rally. That play also illustrated the backfield versatility that could help make the Buffs’ offense tough to scout once Big 12 play arrives.
“I knew we had to run the ball,” CU running backs coach Johnnie Mack said. “We made sure we understood that we had to run the ball. I thought those guys took it serious and they stood to the challenge. It’s not normal to rotate five guys. I make sure in practice that I kind of mold the same thing that we’ll possibly do in a game. They’ll know, ‘When I get the opportunity, I gotta be ready.’ The thing about our guys is competition.”
Besides the aforementioned quartet of Welch, Smith, Henderson and Taylor, the Buffs also boast Alabama transfer Richard Young, who gained 10 yards on three carries in his CU debut. The Buffs’ ground game could be in store for another big day against Weber State — as Sacramento State’s head coach last year, Marion called 50 run plays and only 10 pass plays in a lopsided win against WSU. But Mack said the rotation decisions will continue to be made based on matchups on a week-to-week basis.
“It’s just the flow of the game,” Mack said. “Like I tell those guys, we don’t know what’s going to happen every week. It may be a two-man rotation, depending on the game. It’s just a feeling. We’re not (figuring) it’s going to be five guys going in, but it’s good to have those guys there when that opportunity comes. It’s a long season. Our guys are gonna always be ready.”
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