Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Mike Brohard
In Position: Applewhite wants running backs to maximize agility
7/17/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football
McElroy feeling closer to his old form
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Bryan Applewhite has a stable of backs, each individual with their own skill set. He's not looking for every one of them to be the answer to every question, because as a group, they have the bases covered in Colorado State's backfield.
What the running backs coach wants is for them to maximize what they do so well, do it even better. To hit the target, he wants them to be more agile, more flexible.
"The one thing I want them to focus on this summer is becoming a complete football player. That's in the weight room and on the field doing conditioning drills and agility drills, becoming the best possibly they can be," Applewhite said. "Not what another player is, but each individual player becoming the best they can be in all aspects of it."
For Marcus McElroy the directive was already in his crosshairs.
Considering he missed almost an entire year due to a blood-clot issue, getting back to his old form – and even surpass old standards – was his process. He would show signs in 2018, with 52 carries for 241 yards. But his goal is to truly break out, making something of minimal runs and breaking into the secondary more often.
"I was more agile in high school, but a lot of it came from my injury, just that whole year, missing the end of a season and then spring ball," he said. "That kinda set me back a little bit. I missed being able to see certain things. I see things right now, but it's getting my body back into doing what I used to do. It's sort of a struggle, it's taken some time, but it's starting to work out.
"Right now it's just continuing to work every day, work on my hips, work on my flexibility, doing the extra stuff to come in, roll out, stretch. As we take extra time when we do agility type work, I focus on doing the best I can and work on it and pushing my personal limits and trying to beat what I put up as numbers."
The same can be said for senior Marvin Kinsey Jr., who is still trying to more consistently be the back he was as a true freshman before he was slowed by knee surgery. Behind the duo, the Rams have a load of inexperience. Jaylen Thomas joined the program in the spring and opened some eyes, and the Rams added a pair of true freshmen in Tyreese Jackson and Christian Hunter.
Applewhite wants them each to understand the style of back they are and push the envelope. By doing so, they may be able to expand their horizons a bit, with the idea being a loaded backfield with solutions to every situation.
The proving grounds never come for a running back until they put on the pads and go through live drills, pick up a blitzing backer, break an arm tackle. Until then, their coach just wants them to prepare to their peak for the moment.
"I just want improved. There's a lot of running backs who haven't played a lot of football," Applewhite said. "They've been here a while, but they haven't played a lot. Marvin had the injury, then Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews were ahead of him. Now it's his time, it's Marcus' time. You've got some young guys pushing them a little bit. Jalen Thomas pushed the envelope for those two quite a bit. Christian Hunter has yet to run a play for us, but he's putting up some impressive numbers, and I see some things in agility drills that show me there's something to him. Tyrese shows up and he's 205 pounds. We'll see. I'm excited about it."
In just a short time, Thomas can see a difference. He felt he was pretty agile as a high school runner, but the work with the strength and conditioning staff has shown him he can push his body further.
He's found the time to put in extra work, targeting aspects of his game he felt could use a boost, and his testing has proven the efforts are paying dividends. The work has been not only physical, but understanding the playbook at a higher level.
"Personally, I'm working on the play calls, learning the hand signals and getting better with my footwork every day," Thomas said. "It's flexibility, working with our strength coach. The little things help us out.
"I mean, just working on the little things like my ankles every day and stretching. There's always a lot of room for improvement, and coming to Colorado State, I've learned a lot of new things that have helped me out."
Before July hit, McElroy had trimmed himself down to an extremely fit 225 pounds. He'd also broken off a 40-yard time of 4.5 seconds.
He feels prepared, and he's ready to test it all out. He can't wait to use the mass to hit somebody, and more importantly, find out who's wanting to take him on in the hole.
"I'm ready for practice," he said, his grin growing. "That's what I want."
What the running backs coach wants is for them to maximize what they do so well, do it even better. To hit the target, he wants them to be more agile, more flexible.
"The one thing I want them to focus on this summer is becoming a complete football player. That's in the weight room and on the field doing conditioning drills and agility drills, becoming the best possibly they can be," Applewhite said. "Not what another player is, but each individual player becoming the best they can be in all aspects of it."
For Marcus McElroy the directive was already in his crosshairs.
Considering he missed almost an entire year due to a blood-clot issue, getting back to his old form – and even surpass old standards – was his process. He would show signs in 2018, with 52 carries for 241 yards. But his goal is to truly break out, making something of minimal runs and breaking into the secondary more often.
"I was more agile in high school, but a lot of it came from my injury, just that whole year, missing the end of a season and then spring ball," he said. "That kinda set me back a little bit. I missed being able to see certain things. I see things right now, but it's getting my body back into doing what I used to do. It's sort of a struggle, it's taken some time, but it's starting to work out.
"Right now it's just continuing to work every day, work on my hips, work on my flexibility, doing the extra stuff to come in, roll out, stretch. As we take extra time when we do agility type work, I focus on doing the best I can and work on it and pushing my personal limits and trying to beat what I put up as numbers."
The same can be said for senior Marvin Kinsey Jr., who is still trying to more consistently be the back he was as a true freshman before he was slowed by knee surgery. Behind the duo, the Rams have a load of inexperience. Jaylen Thomas joined the program in the spring and opened some eyes, and the Rams added a pair of true freshmen in Tyreese Jackson and Christian Hunter.
Applewhite wants them each to understand the style of back they are and push the envelope. By doing so, they may be able to expand their horizons a bit, with the idea being a loaded backfield with solutions to every situation.
The proving grounds never come for a running back until they put on the pads and go through live drills, pick up a blitzing backer, break an arm tackle. Until then, their coach just wants them to prepare to their peak for the moment.
"I just want improved. There's a lot of running backs who haven't played a lot of football," Applewhite said. "They've been here a while, but they haven't played a lot. Marvin had the injury, then Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews were ahead of him. Now it's his time, it's Marcus' time. You've got some young guys pushing them a little bit. Jalen Thomas pushed the envelope for those two quite a bit. Christian Hunter has yet to run a play for us, but he's putting up some impressive numbers, and I see some things in agility drills that show me there's something to him. Tyrese shows up and he's 205 pounds. We'll see. I'm excited about it."
In just a short time, Thomas can see a difference. He felt he was pretty agile as a high school runner, but the work with the strength and conditioning staff has shown him he can push his body further.
He's found the time to put in extra work, targeting aspects of his game he felt could use a boost, and his testing has proven the efforts are paying dividends. The work has been not only physical, but understanding the playbook at a higher level.
"Personally, I'm working on the play calls, learning the hand signals and getting better with my footwork every day," Thomas said. "It's flexibility, working with our strength coach. The little things help us out.
"I mean, just working on the little things like my ankles every day and stretching. There's always a lot of room for improvement, and coming to Colorado State, I've learned a lot of new things that have helped me out."
Before July hit, McElroy had trimmed himself down to an extremely fit 225 pounds. He'd also broken off a 40-yard time of 4.5 seconds.
He feels prepared, and he's ready to test it all out. He can't wait to use the mass to hit somebody, and more importantly, find out who's wanting to take him on in the hole.
"I'm ready for practice," he said, his grin growing. "That's what I want."
Players Mentioned
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