Colorado University Athletics
Adkins Takes Run At Being Featured Back
September 10, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For one quarter of Colorado's season opener, running back Michael Adkins II showed the hot hand — and feet — Buff fans have been glimpsing for the past two seasons.
But what Adkins remembers most about the game is the yards he left on the field. Instead of finishing with 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns, he believes he could have surpassed the 100-yard mark in the loss to Hawai'i.
“Some of those runs, I could have gained more yards,” the CU junior said. “I left some yards out on the field. This week I have to take advantage of those chances and turn those into longer runs.”
He'll have that chance Saturday when the Buffs play host to UMass in their noon season opener (Pac-12 Mountain), a game he hopes will yield more than just one solid quarter of production.
For the past two seasons, the Buffs have taken a running back-by-committee approach — somewhat out of necessity, and somewhat dictated by injury.
Last year, the Buffs had three running backs with at least 400 yards rushing — Adkins finished third on the list with 415 — and a fourth with 398. The year prior, the Buffs had a pair of 500-yard rushers, with Adkins No. 2 with 558.
This year, the CU coaching staff has expressed a desire to see someone separate themselves from the pack and become the go-to guy on a weekly basis.
“I think you'd like to see a guy play really well from week to week,” running backs coach Klayton Adams said this week. “That's something we haven't been able to do for three or four games in a row in the past, so I'd like to see that happen this year.”
Adkins has certainly shown glimpses of being that back — but every time he's seemed to be ready to go on a sustained roll, he's been sidelined by an injury. Last year, he had a pair of 100-yard games and seemed ready to establish himself as the featured back, only to see a knee injury end his season early in the 10th game of the year.
“He's had a hard time staying healthy,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “Nothing against him, that's just what always happens. If he stays healthy, he can really run.”
Adkins showed what he's capable of doing in the second quarter in Hawai'i. On two CU scoring drives, he carried nine times for 59 yards and scored both touchdowns. On the second scoring drive, he gained 42 of CU's 57 yards, including five straight carries that produced 35 yards. All told, he toted the rock 11 times for 65 yards in the second period.
“I'm definitely a rhythm runner,” Adkins said. “I definitely got into a rhythm as the game went along and it felt good to keep getting the ball.”
But after halftime, Adkins wasn't quite as effective. He carried nine more times in the second half, but gained only 22 yards on those carries.
“It was a little hot there, (and) he wore down a little bit,” MacIntyre said. “(But) he's a powerful runner, and has speed and the ability to pull away from people. We look for Michael to be able to run the ball a lot for us.”
The key to those hopes will be Adkins' ability to stay healthy.
“We're going to stay injury free this year,” Adkins said. “I really believe that.”
Adkins is by no means the only option for the Buffs. Sophomore tailback Phillip Lindsay provided a nice change of pace in the second half at Hawai'i with four carries for 25 yards, including back-to-back runs for 16 yards on CU's third scoring drive of the night. Also at the ready is senior Christian Powell, as well as freshman Patrick Carr, a speedster who made his Buff debut last week on special teams and could see playing time in the backfield in the near future.
But no one will be surprised to see Adkins begin to get a few more carries this week, especially if he continues where he left off in the second quarter in Hawai'i.
“Michael was a little under the radar early in camp because he got dinged and a lot of people were going 'same old Michael,'” Adams said. “But if you watched the last 15 or 20 practices of camp, he was pretty danged good. I fully expected him to play well.”
With his 90 yards on 22 carries against Hawai'i, Adkins became the 52nd 1,000-yard rusher in CU history, currently standing at 1,023. He figures to add to that total Saturday when the Buffs face UMass. A year ago, Colorado ran for 156 yards in CU's 41-38 win over the Minutemen.
“I think everybody's excited about playing at home,” Adkins said. “We're through with the first game. Nobody likes to lose, and we're tired of pushing through losses. We're ready to win.”
STREAKING: Buff quarterback Sefo Liufau's streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass ended at 20 last week in Hawai'i. It tied for the fifth-longest streak in Pac-12 history, matching a run by former Stanford quarterback John Elway.
Buff wide receiver Nelson Spruce, however, kept his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception alive, a streak that now stands at 26. One player ahead of him on the national list (Spruce is ninth nationally) is UMass senior Tajae Sharpe, who has at least one catch in 35 straight games.
HOME OPENERS: The Buffs are just 3-6 in their last nine home openers, and 1-1 under MacIntyre. More importantly, Colorado will be out to snap a nine-game losing streak — one away from the all-time school mark of 10, which has occurred on two previous occasions (over the 1963-64 seasons and 2005-06 seasons).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
