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Williams rushed for 116 yards per game and 53 yards per game catching the ball; in all, 169 yards per game for a team that averaged 469 yards per game. If you're keeping track, Williams was responsible for 36 percent of the offense; not to mention his 20 combined touchdowns.
Kerwynn Williams 2012 Stats
| Rushing Yards | Rushing Touchdowns | Receiving Yards | Receiving Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,512 | 15 | 697 | 5 |
To put it mildly, Utah State has a big hole to fill in their backfield.
However, Utah State has had a Dr. Who like ability to regenerate great running backs the past few seasons. We all thought the offense might take a step back when Robert Turbin and Michael Smith were drafted; but as you can see with the numbers I posted above, we were all horribly, horribly wrong.
And if you're one of the people that believes the offense might take a step back with Williams leaving, I'm here to tell you, you are also horribly, horribly wrong; because of one man...
Joe Hill.
Hill announced his presence with authority the very first game of the 2012 season with a 3 touchdown, 116 yard performance against SUU. He continued to make plays here and there throughout the season, but playing behind someone like Williams, gives you about as much chance of getting on the field as you have hitting a small, thermal exhaust port with a proton torpedo. He finished with 269 yards on 43 attempts and 7 touchdowns, including 10 catches for 183 yards and 2 scores.
Watching Hill is a lot like watching Williams, they're very similar runners and both have the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield; right Utah?! Where they differ; Kerwynn has a slightly better ability to make the first defender miss while Hill is better at breaking the first tackle. I saw a lot of tacklers bounce off Hill last season, pretty impressive for 185 lbs. guy.
Beyond Hill, what does USU have?
Senior Joey DeMartino had the best spring, outside of Hill. He scored 3 touchdowns in one scrimmage and earned the praise of Head Coach Matt Wells more than once. The junior college transfer has been with the team since 2010, but redshirted in the 2011 season. He's more of a downhill runner than Hill but can still catch the ball pretty effortlessly . I expect him to be the primary back up to Hill.
Senior Robert Marshall is a straight, downhill runner; he doesn't give you the home run speed but he has a lot of power between the tackles. Saw a little action in 2012 before injuring his ACL, ending his season. He'll have a chance to see a lot of time as the short yardage back.
The Aggies also added 2 running backs in this year's recruiting class.
Karris Johnson is a track star out of San Ramon, California. He ran the 100 meters in 10.73 last month; and oh yeah, he does play football. He rushed for 1,301 and 20 touchdowns for California High School, finishing the season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards.
While he absolutely has the potential of coming in and making a case for playing time this season, I have a feeling , with all this depth, he is going to be red shirted.
The more likely candidate to see the field is JC transfer Rashad Hall out of Contra Costa College.
Utah State 2013 Running Backs
| Player | Height/Weight | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hill | 5'9/180 | Junior | Projected Starter |
| Joe DeMartino | 5'9/180 | Senior | Projected Backup |
| Robert Marshall | 6'0/223 | Senior | Could see time |
| as short yardage running back. | |||
| Kelvin Lee | 5'10/183 | Sophomore | Saw time in the |
| spring, could work his way into the rotation | |||
| Karris Johnson | 5'11/198 | Freshman | A lot of |
| talent, possible red shirt candidate due to | |||
| depth. | |||
| Rashad Hall | 6'0/205 | JC Transfer | Has a chance |
| to be the back up this fall |
Hall averaged 127 yards per game last season, 6.2 yards per carry, and 16 touchdowns. Much like Hill, he has great speed and can catch the ball; the biggest difference between the 2 , is size. Hall is 6'0, 205 lbs; pretty impressive to be that big and have the home run speed; it's Turbin-esque (settle down, I said "Turbin-esque" not "he's Robert Turbin).
DeMartino had a great spring, he played the best I've seen him play since he has been here. As of right now, he is absolutely the back up.
Hall is really good.
Don't be surprised if he comes into fall camp and takes the back-up job away from DeMartino. I know I won't.
