close

Mikes have recent history of strong tailbacks

By Adam Brewer, For The Greene County Messenger 3 min read
article image -

The running back position is crucial for any team and over the last decade Carmichaels has had a slew of talented tailbacks in the backfield.

From Joby Lopkowicz to Josh Mundell to last year’s leading rusher Michael Blasinsky, the Mikes have had a consistent reputation of strong rushers.

Third-year head coach Ryan Krull hopes that this year’s edition of running backs will carry on the solid tradition and be productive for the Carmichaels offense.

“Running the football is important for any team,” Krull expressed. “If you can establish the run you can control the football game. We expect all of our running backs to not only run the ball, but to also be able to block for the other backs.”

The Mikes will have a trio of runners in 2015, headlined by returning starter Shawn Delaney.

“Shawn is just an awesome kid to begin with,” Krull said. “He will do anything for the team that you will ask him to do. When you tell him to do something, he understands it and you don’t have to keep on repeating it to him.”

Delaney lines up at 5-foot-8, but Krull said that his power and impactful running abilities are very underrated.

“He is our spark plug on offense,” he stated. “His stature may not wow anybody, but trust me, he gets after it and is a very strong runner. We have all the confidence in his abilities and what he can do for this offense. He’s a special player and a special kid.”

Coty Allen, who has played the wide receiver and quarterback positions over the last two seasons, will move to the tailback slot and Krull likes his athleticism in the backfield.

“Coty is just an athletic kid that can be a playmaker for you,” Krull said. “He was our quarterback last year and made a lot of plays with his feet. He has excellent vision and he has the ability to bounce it to the outside.”

Nick Mundell, who is the younger brother of Josh, saw carries last year as a freshman and Krull is excited about the set of skills that he can bring to the tailback spot.

“Nick got thrown right into the mix last year and saw carries in week 1,” Krull said. “He has the size you want in a back and is very explosive. He’s doing a great job of working at his craft and learning this offense.”

As it relates to splitting up the carries between the three backs in games, Krull states that it will be a game-to-game decision.

“We never have a set amount of carries that we give to our backs during a game,” he expressed. “There’s a lot of factors when it comes to who gets the carries and we just want the freshest guy in there producing for us. We will rotate them in and will ride the hot hand at times.”

Carmichaels will look to run its way back to the postseason and to bigger things in the Tri-County South Conference in 2015, as the Mikes open the season at Bentworth on Sept. 4.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today