The Return of the “We” Backs?

1 comment so far June 2, 2009 by Steve Hanway

For a very long time, Nebraska hasn’t had running backs. It’s had “I-backs”, named for where they lined up in the I-formation that helped define the Husker offense in the Tom Osborne era. While Bill Callahan was seen as having killed a lot of great NU traditions, even he realized that the name “I-back” ought to remain. Back in 1992 the Huskers had a prolific tandem at I-back with Derek Brown and Calvin Jones. The duo was called the “we-backs” because they were essentially co-#1’s and to this day, no other pair of Husker I-backs managed to each produce 1,000 yards rushing in the same season.

Perhaps given the evolution of the NU offense in recent years, a pair of 1,000 yard rushers would seem unthinkable. But there are a few reasons to believe that it could happen (or at least something close). First, there is a clear pair of backs likely to share most of the carries this season. Yes, depth exists behind #1 and #2, but Roy Helu and Quentin Castille are the experienced and largely proven upperclassmen that you’d rely on in any close game. Next, is that Nebraska could play up to 14 games. Unlike most of Nebraska football history, the team will play a 12 game season, followed by a possible 13th game for the Big 12 Championship and a bowl game. You can count the number of 14-game seasons for Nebraska on one hand. Not many players had so many chances to tally 1,000 yards as Helu and Castille can. Finally, if we look at it another way, no pair of Husker I-backs outside of Jones and Brown has each tallied 1,000 yards from scrimmage in the same season. So that means if we can throw their receiving yards into the mix then the chances get that much greater that they could each reach the milestone.

A healthy Roy Helu seems like a lock to hit the mark. He managed 1,069 yards from scrimmage despite starting only twice in 2008. Castille managed a combined 576 yards rushing and receiving a year ago with only a single start. Marlon Lucky’s departure along with his 11 starts and 805 yards from 151 carries and catches is going to create a lot more playing time for someone. There’s no reason to think a good chunk of those opportunities wouldn’t go to Castille.

Of course, one reason Nebraska hasn’t had another pair of I-backs cross the 1,000-yard threshold is that sometimes third and fourth backs emerge that earn a lot of playing time. Even if Helu and Castille are fully capable of the feat, players like Lester Ward, Collins Okafor, and Rex Burkhead could steal enough touches to keep the juniors from hitting the mark.

One major variable that shouldn’t be overlooked is winning. While a lot of people say rushing is the key to winning, it also can be a byproduct of winning. Whether it’s done to kill time and preserve a lead or simply as a way to show mercy to an overmatched opponent, teams with the lead are able to run the ball more. If prognosticators like Athlon and Phil Steele are right and Nebraska will be one of the top 25 teams in the country, then that should create more opportunities for the I-backs late in games.

One last advantage related to winning that the original we-backs had was that they played behind a dominant Nebraska offensive line, on a team with a dominant defense and a talented (though inexperienced) quarterback (Tommie Frazier). If Helu and Castille become the new we-backs it will say a lot about the team around them. Like most major individual achievements in football, they’re made possible by the support you get from your team. That’s something we can probably all agree on.

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