Countdown to Camp: Purdue running backs

Leading into August’s training camp, GoldandBlack.com is breaking down Purdue position by position. We continue the series with a closer look at the running backs.

Purdue may spend the bulk of its training camp trying to figure out who will fill its No. 2 running back role.

After D.J. Knox’s ACL injury in the spring game, the options — David Yancey, Richie Worship, Tario Fuller, etc. — spent the summer working to better learn the playbook, better understand what new coach DeAndre Smith wants, add muscle and get in better condition. All in an effort to step onto the practice field Aug. 4 and prove readiness for game snaps.

It could be one of the most anticipated battles of camp.

And perhaps that’s odd because they know full well that whoever rises — if Smith opts for one guy instead of a situational backup — likely won’t get that many offensive snaps.

Not with Markell Jones back after a nearly 900-yard freshman season.

“After really watching Markell for a full year, now, I really think he can be on the field every single snap,” offensive coordinator Terry Malone said in June. “We don’t want him to be out there if he’s not at 100 percent and totally refreshed and ready to play fast, but he certainly can do everything we ask of our running backs. He can catch. He can protect and certainly run the ball.”

Jones will use camp to become a better practice player, he said, and focus on going full speed every rep and truly using those reps to prepare for the opener. He said he hasn’t always been good about doing that, but it’s a point of emphasis, perhaps especially now with Knox out.

Knox was Jones’ main competition, and not just from a talent perspective. Knox has natural leadership qualities and is an incredibly dedicated and determined worker, and that showed up in practice in little things, like being at the front of the line for every drill. That’s where Jones will be in camp.

“(It’s) not only what I can do on the field but also what I can say and do that will motivate guys (and) can also help us,” Jones said in June. “(I’m) not really concerned about personal attributes or milestones. We’re more worried about team goals, and that’s kind of my mindset. I’m trying to become more of a team-focused (person).”

Of course, the team’s success could directly correlate to Jones’ production.

There are expectations for Jones to exceed his rookie season, and Coach Darrell Hazell said he has a specific number in mind for what Jones can do in Year 2. Hazell wouldn’t share that publicly, but he did share it with Jones.

During a meeting this summer, Hazell handed Jones a book he’d made for him, “a road map of his next three years,” Hazell said.

Hazell showed Jones clips of Walter Payton, and they discussed what made Payton so good. And it wasn’t just about athletic ability or God-given talent. Hazell pulled up a photo of Payton running a hill in training.

“I said, ‘That’s where you have to live. That’s who you have to be. Whether it’s a hill or whether it’s doing extra to get to where you want to be, that’s what you have to do,’ ” Hazell told Jones. “‘You can’t do what everyone else is doing and think you’re going to get there (to the next level).’ ”

Jones is eager to prove he can be even better in 2016.

But it’s likely he’s going to need a couple breathers throughout a game — or more than that, worst case, if his mysterious knee issue flares up again — so a key this camp is finding No. 2.

Yancey, a junior, is “Mr. Reliable,” Jones said, and has developed into a player coaches trust. He may not be as physically gifted as others, but he’s smart and likely won’t make many mistakes. That matters, and it’ll need to be verified in camp.

Worship figured he’d be in more of an H-back role this season, but Knox’s injury changed that. So Worship trimmed down — he was in the mid-230s in June — but is said to have kept the physicality that can separate him from the other backup options. Of course, he’ll need to prove that’s the case in camp.

Fuller probably is the most athletic of the group, but he’s still a bit raw, too, and must continue to make strides in pass protection, for one, in camp to have a chance to get game snaps.

Freshman Brian Lankford-Johnson could be the fastest of the group, but he didn’t arrive until July — missing a month of the team’s offseason conditioning and meetings — and it could be difficult for him to get acclimated to the offense, the playbook and the college game in time to move past any of the redshirt freshmen. But those likely will be his goals in camp.

“I have confidence in everybody in my room, so I don’t really worry about who is going to be the second option. And even saying ‘second option,’ I don’t like that, because they could be the first option somewhere else,” Jones said when asked about the No. 2 spot. “I think that Richie physically is ready. David is physically ready. I don’t know if Tario is quite there yet. He sometimes is a little twitchy. But he probably is the most athletic guy in our room.

“All those young guys still have a lot to learn, that’s why I don’t know if Brian is going to be able to come in yet. I like to consider myself pretty smart, but the playbook is tough. It’s not school. You’ve really got to be dedicated to it. It just depends on how dedicated these guys are, as far as wanting to play and learning the playbook. Physically, they can play but mentally is where you’ve got to be really in it.”

Countdown to Camp series (offense): Quarterbacks | Receivers

Countdown to Camp series (defense): Linebackers | Secondary

More: 2016 football primer

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