McCray rushing to seek his redemption

After battling a leg injury for the past two years, IU senior running back Demetrius McCray wondered if he would ever have the chance to reach his full potential.

Now he has that opportunity.

McCray was named the starter for today’s matchup against Eastern Kentucky after a tough competition this offseason for the top backfield spot.

He will be followed by freshman Darius Willis, junior Trea Burgess and senior Bryan Payton in a four-player rotation.

“It’s totally different out here now than it was the last two years, as far as my ability to run the ball,” McCray said. “But at the end of the day, I have not proved anything yet. I want to go out there on game day and really show what I can do.”

Hoosier fans had a glimpse of McCray during the first three games of 2007, in which he ran for 138 yards on only 22 carries. He returned last season but was not the same.

McCray garnered a meager 214 yards on 59 attempts in 2008, and his yards per carry average dropped from 6.2 to 3.6. This offseason, he had surgery to repair the sprained leg.

Payton said he noticed a new and improved McCray, now healthy, in the second week of camp.

“He made some moves I had not seen since 2005,” Payton said. “He would make a jump cut that would have everyone looking silly. I hadn’t seen that in a few years and for him to come out here and do that, I was like ‘ah, he’s back.’”

But while McCray earned the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, IU football coach Bill Lynch said the current rankings do not play a major factor in the amount of playing time for each running back.

“Trea Burgess and Darius Willis are both the bangers, and if we’re going to have success running the football, we’re going to have to get the tough yards when we need to in those down-and-distance situations,” Lynch said. “Bryan Payton is pretty darn good, and he gives you something too ... I would think they are all going to play.”

And with a wide variety of talent in the backfield, the Hoosiers decided to implement a new offense that would better cater to their style of play.

“The Pistol,” an offensive scheme that combines the shotgun and I-formation, has the quarterback line up about four yards behind the center with the running back three or four yards behind him. Compared to the traditional shotgun formation (where the running back is next to the quarterback), the new offensive system enables the rushers to see the play better and attack the line of scrimmage with more momentum.

“It allows that back to see the blocks being developed and also allows him to get north and south a lot faster,” Dennis Springer, IU running back coach, said. “They have responded to it very well.”

All four running backs will be utilized in different ways this season and may be the most important factor in the Hoosiers’ success this fall.

“It’s going to be a good rotation,” Willis said. “When you get in, you just have to make the most of the opportunity. We are all talented and have different abilities, but the goal is to go out there and win as a team. That’s what we are going to do.”