It took a little pain for Darius Wilson to realize he's the man set to fill the gigantic shoes left by former Mary Hardin-Baylor running back Quincy Daniels.
The talent was there — Wilson saw time in seven games last season as a reserve. He ran for 423 yards on 73 carries.
But the junior needed to take that last step in seizing the role. Daniels, by the way, finished his career last season as the UMHB and American Southwest Conference's all-time leading rusher and scorer.
"(Wilson) felt like — one day — he was a little injured and he pulled himself out," UMHB head coach Pete Fredenburg said on Monday at his season-opening weekly news conference. "Some of our guys kind of talked to him and made him realize the role that he needed to play. I think the light went off then.
"Since that time he's really established himself."
Wilson won't be alone. Also returning are fellow tailbacks Stephen Salinas (519 yards) and D.J. Monroe (376), as well as quarterback LiDarral Bailey (851).
But Wilson is the lead man, a role Fredenburg said he has taken "giant strides" toward in the last week.
"The biggest thing about Darius was for him to realize that he was the guy that had to step up and be the starter and that the other guys were depending on him," Fredenburg said. "He's never taken the responsibility of, 'Hey, this is my team. I'm
going to be the guy that they can depend on.' And (finally) he has."
Home, sweet home
The Crusaders open their 14th season in the coming days, and for one of the country's most decorated Division III programs, UMHB will experience a first Saturday night.
When UMHB faces Wisconsin-La Crosse to open to its home schedule, it will be the first of six regular-season home games. The normal 10-game schedule includes five home games and five on the road.
Last season, the Crusaders only played four games at their home turf (Tiger Field). They went undefeated during the year, but their closest wins came on the road. That included a 19-point rally to beat Wisconsin-La Crosse (24-19), a four-point win over Louisiana College and an overtime victory over East Texas Baptist.
UMHB's four home wins last year came by an average of 36 points.
"It's really exciting," Fredenburg said. "I think that our fans are excited to have six home ballgames. We paid for it last year in all the away trips, but it will be fun to have six home ballgames."
Young line takes over
Six Crusaders will make their debuts Saturday — four will be across the offensive front.
"It's a point of concern," Fredenburg said.
UMHB must replace All-Americans in tackle Max Taylor and center Dustin Davis, and an all-conference guard in Ryan Krause. The replacements — sophomore center Jacob Hunter, junior guard Jonathan Green and junior tackle Sam Maxie — have some experience, playing in a combined 22 games last season.
Also new to the starting lineup is senior tight end Brady Engelmohr.
"Our offensive line, as I've mentioned, is kind of a work in progress," Fredenburg said. "Anytime you put an inexperience guy in there, you're concerned about the whole gamut."
Coach Fredenburg quotables
On wideout Ervin Johnson moving to H-back:
"He's getting more and more comfortable every day. After the first scrimmage, he was down to the third team. After this scrimmage, he's starting. He's making some giant strides and I think it's going to get better and better as the season progresses."
On expanding the offense:
"What we're tried to go with our offense is to open it up some to create some places for our skill guys to perform, and opening up and getting into shotgun some is going to give us that opportunity. It's something that's going to mature itself as it goes."
On quarterback LiDarral Bailey becoming a leader:
"If you were in the fieldhouse for the last year, you saw almost a personality change from a guy that was kind of laid back and just kind of took things, and now a guy that is motivated to be a leader, motivated to be the guy that makes the right decisions."
没有评论:
发表评论