Heisman hopeful Johnson should have help in Boise backfield
BOISE - Ian Johnson proved last season that the running-back-by-committee backfield Boise State used in 2005 isn't always the best way to order the backfield.
Vinny Perretta spelled Ian Johnson last season, but this year he's moving back to wide receiver.
Ian Johnson's backups this season have much more experience as running backs. The idea is to bring along the freshmen, get them to know the system and lighten the load on Ian Johnson, who scored 25 touchdowns last season to lead the nation. He was No. 2 in the nation in yards per game, with 142.83, just behind Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois.
He also carried the ball 277 times for 1,713 yards - a Boise State single-season record and a 6.2 yards-per-carry average.
Even with all those carries, Ian Johnson only had half of the team's total totes.
Perretta took 55 carries for 316 yards, Brett Denton rushed 69 times for 348 yards and Jared Zabranksy tucked and ran 98 times for 197.
Denton was used as a straight backup for Ian Johnson, whereas Perretta was a scat-back. He ran a lot of end-arounds, reverses and play-action pass fakes.
All together, the 2006 Broncos were No. 6 in the nation in rushing, averaging 214.15 yards per game, scoring 39 rushing touchdowns and totaling 551 rushes. The Broncos threw the ball only 306 times last season.
Ian Johnson is ready to do it again, but he still needs to adjust.
"I've been working out the entire summer, but you're not doing the same things at practice that you do during the summer," Ian Johnson said. "There are different movements, different rest times, different tempos when you are out there. You just get tired and you got to feel your way out. Once you get back into it, it just all works together."
Ian Johnson kind of joked that the younger guys in camp are in better shape than he was when he was a freshmen. He alluded to an episode of vomiting he experienced as a younger player.
"Some of the guys we have coming in are amazing," said Ian Johnson. "They came in and stepped into a varsity-level practice making great grabs. Routes aren't the best, everything isn't the best, but they're out there competing with our starters. We have great recruits and I am really excited for this season."
The guys coming in this year are plain different from anything the Broncos have had in the past, according to Ian Johnson. "These guys are learning on the fly," he said. "They're watching us and they're not even asking questions. It also pushes us, because we see, this guy's chomping at my heels."
Jeremy Avery is the No. 2 guy behind Ian Johnson. But Jarvis Hodge will also share the backup role. Avery is a smaller back at 5-9, 173 pounds, but he is quick and agile. He may take over some of the play duties assigned to Perretta last season.
"Me and J. Hodge are working at it, trying to fill in those two spots," Avery said. "It's very important, because you have to know your role in the offense and know what you are doing, so the coach can feel comfortable enough with you to put you into the game."
Coach Petersen doesn't have to worry about moving guys out of position this year to make the running game ride.
"We're excited about our running game," Petersen said. "It's a tremendously important part of our offense. It's nice to see Ian out there full speed again. I think Jeremy Avery is going to be a nice piece to the puzzle and we got a couple young guys too in our freshmen running backs (D.J. Harper and Doug Martin). Both are going to have a lot of talent and we'll see how those guys fit in here as we get further into camp. Jarvis Hodge is another freshman that has improved. We're going to have more depth there than we've had in the last year for sure."
Hodge and Avery both took a redshirt season in 2006.
Although it is important for Ian Johnson to be spelled during games, BSU will never take the risk of putting an untested player in the backfield.
"I think it's really important as long as we've got a really good player back there," Petersen said. "We don't want to put a guy back there that's not going to be very productive. You don't like to take a player of Ian's Caliber out and feel like, 'well what if we had given (Ian) the ball? He would have really done something with it.'"
That shouldn't be too much of a worry. Avery rushed for more than 1,800 yards as a senior in high school. Hodge averaged 10.7 yards per rush in high school in Phoenix, Ariz. D.J. Harper (5-10, 185) rushed for 1,570 yards as a senior last season and scored 21 touchdowns. Harper totaled 3,900 rushing yards in high school. Doug Martin (5-10, 193) was named team MVP both his junior and senior seasons in high school.
None of these backs are large in stature, but each of them has the agility and potential to rack up some serious yards behind this offensive line.
"It's a big challenge for me because I am a small guy, but anything they throw at me, I am going," Avery said. "A lot of energy we've got, we're all smaller backs, we're all shifty. You look down at the younger running backs, too, and they all have energy."
The younger players seem to be in a respect but not revere mode for their stance on Ian Johnson and his success.
"It's an experience for me," Avery said. "Looking after I.J. and the season he had, coming in as a backup, I'm just trying to learn everything and go hard. I.J. is a good running back. He sets a good example for all the young running backs. He takes everything really serious."
No matter the circumstance, Ian Johnson can't take all the carries. The others will have to help out.
"The exciting thing is that I think we have some good players back there that we can put in and spell him and keep him fresh and keep him healthy, with these other running backs," Petersen said.
The other thing on Ian Johnson's mind is all the Heisman Trophy talk. But of course, he has nothing to do with it, and won't.
"I am not a voter," Ian Johnson said. "I am not out here trying to gain votes by what I am doing out here right now. We're just out here working real hard. We're all working the same. No one is out here saying there's a prima donna who gets his own water bottle with 32-below water. We're all normal guys and some guys use it as a joke, but it's just the way us guys work."
In short, there is no special treatment for anyone at Bronco camp.
If you are a die-hard Twin Falls football fan you might also recognize the BSU running backs coach, Jeff Choate. Choate coached the linebackers at Twin Falls High in 1997-98 before moving on to take a head coaching position elsewhere.
"Choate is a great guy, he brings a lot of energy to the table," Avery said. "He coaches up. He has an open heart and open arms, he really does his job really good."
It will help the young guys and Ian Johnson to know that the coaching staff and especially the head coach are all behind them.
"(Coach Petersen) 100 percent believes in us," Ian Johnson said. "We're going to go out there and show him that his trust isn't wasted."
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