Central Michigan University Athletics
Guidugli Turns to Experienced Quartet in Backfield
3/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
During spring practice, each assistant coach will be "Mic'd Up" for a practice and do an exculsive interview with CMUChippewas.com. Today's featured coach is Gino Guidugli.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – As often happens in athletics, the curse becomes a blessing.
But in order to realize that silver lining, patience and a long-term view are critical.
When starting running back Zurlon Tipton broke his ankle in CMU’s 2013 football season-opener, it was a devastating blow.
Now, however, that unfortunate turn of events may pay dividends.
“Zurlon as our guy going into last year, and he got injured,” running backs coach Gino Guidugli said Tuesday after a spring-practice workout at the indoor athletic complex. “But it opened up doors for those other guys to get some valuable experience. You get those other guys that much more experience coming back this year and it does nothing but help us.”
Tipton made his way back and played in the final four games last season, but in his absence, the Chippewas discovered a number of capable ball carriers, with Saylor Lavallii topping the list. Lavallii, a junior-to-be, emerged as CMU’s top rusher a year ago, gaining 807 yards (4.4-yard average) and scoring five touchdowns.
Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore and Anthony Garland were also among those backs picking up the slack in Tipton’s absence. That duo – Garland will be a senior next season, Shoemaker-Gilmore a sophomore – combined for 420 yards (5.1 yards per carry) in 2013. Sophomore Martez Walker, who saw limited playing time last season, is also in the mix.
“We’re deep at the position,” Guidugli said. “We’ve got those four veteran backs coming back. Each one of them brings a little something different to the offense, and I’m excited for them to get out here and show what they can do and line up the depth chart for fall.”
At 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, Garland is the biggest of that quartet.
“He’s our senior, he’s our leader in the room,” Guidugli said. “He’s a workhorse, he’s going to be the bull, he’s going to be our power back.”
Though he’s not as big as Garland, Lavallii, who is 5-9 and 213 pounds, possesses several of the traits that Guidugli sees in Garland. Lavallii was the Chippewas’ second-leading rusher, behind Tipton, two years ago as a freshman, and he has 18 career pass receptions.
“Saylor’s got a lot of experience,” Guidugli said. “He’s played the last two years. He’s got great hands out of the backfield. He combines strength and power, good knowledge of the offense.”
Both Shoemaker-Gilmore and Walker share similar strengths, Guidugli said.
“Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore, he’s got really quick feet, and he’s a good pass-catcher,” he said. “He’s your every-down back. Martez Walker was kind of limited last year, but he might have the quickest feet of the bunch. He can change his direction, he can drop his weight, and does a lot of good things for us. Again, he catches the ball well out of the backfield and he’s got a really good knowledge of the offense.”
Veterans slugging it out in practice for playing time is a healthy competition, and should only serve to make all four – and the team – better in the long run. Having that many capable bodies is also a good insurance policy.
“You never know,” Guidugli said, reflecting on an all-too-realistic scenario. “Week 1, you think you’ve got a 1,600-yard, 20-touchdown rusher, and the third series of the game, you might lose him for the year.
“We’re always going to try to recruit a good running back and we’re always trying to keep a stable of them. It provides good competition out here every day in practice.”
