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Joshua Kalu decided he was going to go low on Richie Worship.
Not a bad idea, really, considering Worship is a bigger back and can be a tough guy to bring down unless one is attacking his legs.
But when Kalu’s version of “low” meant to just dive at Worship while another teammate, Dedrick Young, was converging, too, Worship did the only thing he could: Leap.
A 256-pounder hurdled a linebacker, with another guy engaged on his body, landed and kept running, shedding Young, too, in the process.
It was a highlight of Worship’s highlight-heavy game against Nebraska Saturday when the sophomore turned a career-high amount of offensive snaps into career-high production that included 89 yards on 18 carries. He added a rushing touchdown, barreling in from four yards out, too.
It was the kind of day Worship had been waiting to have for the Boilermakers.
But one he wasn’t sure would come.
Last season as a redshirt freshman, Worship was behind Markell Jones and Brian Lankford-Johnson and spent the final four games on the sidelines after spraining the MCL in his left knee. But even in games he was available, he often was an afterthought. A piece of it was being stuck behind a player who had a breakout freshman season (Jones). Another may have been a product of getting pigeonholed as a blocking or short-yardage back.
Even early Purdue’s new coaching staff saw him a bit that way, cross-training him as a fullback and using him primarily as a blocker in two-back sets. In training camp, Jeff Brohm said he didn’t think Worship could carry the lead-back role.
Worship has started changing that perception.
“He showed us a lot Saturday,” running backs coach Chris Barclay said Tuesday. “That was the most snaps he’s played all year. I try to do a decent job of watching the snaps. He showed he was perfectly capable of handling it.
“He understands the game, understands what we’re trying to get done. He’s a load to tackle, and he’s shown great agility. So I think over the course of the season, you’ve seen him getting a lot better. He’s improved quite a bit.”
Barclay said Worship’s uptick in snaps, really over the last two games, has come because Worship is “just being Richie,” a player who works consistently hard in practice and brings a unique element to games, too.
He’s the bulldozer who masquerades as a hurdler.
That kind of combination galvanizes the team, Barclay said, and it’s one reason there’s no plans to change the approach against Illinois.
“We’re excited about where he is, what he presents for us,” Barclay said. “I think it’s important to play the other ones as well. I like to be able to pound people and then present a different quicker guy and then pound again and then present a quicker guy. I’d like to get as many of them as I can involved, it’s just difficult to get a lot of guys carries. But I like to work those guys around Richie. He certainly has got to be the guy.”
Those words are a “dream come true” for Worship, he said Tuesday.
Especially after the way his first two seasons went.
He came to Purdue with high expectations but wasn’t ready to contribute, being out of shape and with the wrong mindset, he said. But that was the necessary reality check.
He strived to get his body right — and still does, saying he’d like to probably lose some weight but needs to find the right balance of staying healthy, too. This summer, director of football strength and conditioning Justin Lovett said Worship was a “winner” in terms of total body transformation, getting more cut and stronger.
And, in part because of that offseason work, Worship quickly earned a reputation of being someone who was willing to put extra time in to raise his level. But Barclay noticed it, too, in the meeting room, calling Worship a sharp kid who understands his responsibilities.
It’s nice to have a player who doesn’t just understand but executes, too.
Worship certainly has done that, averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season — and that’s even in the last two games with a more increased role in terms of carries. He gained 140 yards on 23 carries against Rutgers and Nebraska, a 6.1 average. (He gained 133 yards in eight games last season.)
Worship admitted he was a little sore after the heavier load Saturday, but he didn’t much care either.
“More than anything, it just felt great. I couldn’t really explain the feeling just knowing like, hey, I can contribute as much as I could,” he said. “It was just a big honor, to get on the field and help as much as I can.
“Me and D.J. (Knox), that’s one thing we always talk with each other about … it’s a rough sport, it can be taken away from you at any moment, any time unexpectedly, so you’ve just got to grab it by the neck and just take it and run with it and do as much as you can.”
Barclay hopes that includes more wow-type plays like that leap Saturday. And the Saturday before: Because Worship’s bounce wasn’t just a moment. At Rutgers, Worship did the same thing when a defender flung himself at his feet.
Barclay actually had talked to Worship about being aware of where defenders will attack, and, with Worship’s size, it’s pretty obvious once Worship gets to the second level, few defenders will be able to go high.
“Actually, I put those guys in a category: I call them anklebiters just because I know they’re not going to go high with me,” Worship said. “There are some guys who want to challenge me. I love that, too. It’s just those (anklebiter) guys, you have to be cautious about it and be ready to put a move on them.
“(So leaping is) just either A, I get over or (B) my knee is gone. I would like to keep my knee. I don’t want to take no chances.”
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