CMU Football Deep Dive: Running Backs

FINALLY....FINALLY... SPORTS... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.... WELCOME TO AUGUST... FINALLY....FINALLY... WE HAVE ENTERED A MONTH IN WHICH FOOTBALL SHALL BE PLAYED.... IN FACT AN NFL GAME WAS PLAYED TONIGHT... MORE ON THAT IN A BIT BUT FIRST... LET'S CELEBRATE THE START OF AUGUST BY TAKING A LOOK AT SOME OF THE RETURNING AND LOST PRODUCTION FOR COLORADO MESA FOOTBALL.... TODAY WE DIVE DEEP INTO THE RUNNING BACK POSITION... AND REALLY JUST ONE MAIN HEADLINER BACK FROM LAST SEASON... IT'S NUMBER 28 MYLES NEWBLE WHO RANKED THIRD ON THE TEAM LAST SEASON WITH 239 RUSHING YARDS AND ONE RUSHING SCORE.... WHILE ADDING ON 47 RECIEVING YARDS... THE ONLY OTHER RUNNING BACKS WHO RETURN ARE ERNESTO RIOS... SEAN KIDD AND IAN DEXTER WHO COMBINED FOR JUST 17 TOTAL CARRIES LAST SEASON... SO SAFE TO SAY THIS POSITION GROUP WILL LOOK QUITE DIFFERENT THIS SEASON... BECAUAUSE THE MAVS LOSE A VAST MAJORITY OF THEIR PRODUCTION FROM LAST YEAR.... INCLUDING LEADING RUSHER MARVIN JONES WHO HAD 324 YARDS AND 3 TOUCHDOWN LAST SEASON.. THE OTHER NOTABLE BACKS WHO WON'T BE BACK ARE GIANNI HURD AND KEYSHAWN ASHFORD WHO COMBINED FOR 452 YARDS ON THE GROUND AND 5 RUSHING SCORES LAST SEASON... BUT A LOT LIKE LAST YEAR... I EXPECT THE APPROACH TO BE VERY MUCH BY COMITTEE WITH NEWBLE LEADING THE WAY IN TOTAL TOUCHES... SO WHO COULD REPLACE THOSE KEY LOSSES... WELL HERE ARE SOME NANAMES TO LK OUT FOR... LET'S START WITH A NAME MANY OF YOU ARE PROBABY FAMILIAR WITH... FORMER DELTA STAR RUNNING BACK AND LINEBACKER TALAN HULET... HULET CAPPED OF AN INCREDIBLE SENIOR SEASON IN THE BACKFIELD.... HIS FIRST AND ONLY YEAR AT HALFBACK WITH A 5- TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AT WHAT'S NOW HIS HOME STADIUM... ANOTHER INCOMING FRESHMAN WHO MADE PLAYS AT STOKER STADIUM LAST SEASON.... ANOTHER STATE CHAMPION AS WELL... ROOSEVELT'S XAVIER RAMIREZ.... A TWO- TIME ALL-STATE SELECTION RAMIREZ RAN FOR A RIDICULOUS 4,700 YARDS AND 65 TOUCHDOWNS IN HIS HIGH SCHOOOL CAREER.. BUT HULET AND RAMIREZ BOTH ONLY FRESHMAN.... IT'S LIKELY HARD TO EXPECT EITHER TO MAKE A HUGE IMPT YEAR-1... SO HOW BOUT SOME TRANSFERS... WELL THERE'S 3 TO NOTE.... HOW ABOUT A THIRD STATE CHAMPION.... A 5A CHAMPION THREE YEARS AGO AT CHERRY CREEK A TRANSFER FROM CSU PUEBLO IT'S JAMES WALKER... RATED THE NUMBER 38 PLAYER IN THE STATE COMING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.. WALKER HAD OVER 11- HUNDRED YARDS HE SENIOR SEASON AT CHERRY CREEK... THE MAVS ALSO BROUGHT IN A PAIR OF OUT OF STATE TRANSFERS.... FIRST A JUCO TRANSFER FROM BYUTE COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA... ALEX CARDONA RAN FOR 123 YARDS LAST SEASON... LASTLY THE MAN WHO COULD HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT THIS SEASON.... A DIVISION-1 TRANSFER FROM FCS IDAHO STATE.... AIDEN TAYLOR HAD 111 RUSHING YARDS WITH THREE SCORES LAST SEASON... BOY IT IS GOING TO BE A FASCINATING CAMP BATTLE AT THE RUNNING BACK POSITION..... FALL CAMP GETS UNDERWAY FOR CMU ON MONDAY... AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER THE NFL IS BACK.... THE FIRST PRESEASON GAME OF THE SEASON... ANNUAL HALL OF FAME GAME IN CANTON OHIO... WAS ACTUALLY CUT SHORT WITH 3 MINUTES LEFT IN 3RD QUARTER DUE TO INCLIMENT... NO STARTERS PLAYED IN THIS ONE AS THE BEARS BEHIND THREE TOUCHDOWNS FROM FORMER BRONCO BRETT RYPIEN TAKE DOWN THE TEXANS 21 TO 17... AND OF COURSE IN ADDITION TO FOOTBALL WE'VE GOT THE OLYMPICS... AND IT WAS A BIG DAY FOR TEAM USA AS THEY ADDED 4 GOLD MEDALS ON THE DAY... AS THE US STRENGTHENS IT'S LEAD ON TOTAL MEDALS... AND IS NOW JUST TWO GOLD MEDALS BEHIND CHINA... BOY OLYMPICS AND FOOTBALL... FOLKS IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS.. BUT THATS ALL MY TIME FOR SPORTS I'M BIG WILL LEVENSON TEMPERATURES WILL BE TRIPLE DIGITS TOMORROW AND FRIDAY WITH CALMER WIND SPEEDS. FIRE DANGER WILL DECREASE JUST A LITTLE BIT EVEN THOUGH THE TEMPS ARE INCREASING. THEN, MOSITURE LEVELS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EARLY WORK WEEK. ((BERNIE)) THAT WRAPS TONIGHT'S BROADCAST -- BUT FOR