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Hurricanes' depth can be deceiving

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2000

CORAL GABLES -- James Jackson knows the difficulty of running with the football, being chased by linemen and linebackers. It becomes even more difficult when you're chased off the field by teammates.

In addition to looking for holes in the defense, Miami's starting tailback has been looking over his shoulder, wondering when the hook is coming from the sideline.

"With a limited amount of playing time, I've been trying to make something happen," Jackson said. "I was trying to do too many things."

It is Miami's good news-bad news scenario: Finally, the Hurricanes are beginning to establish depth at key positions after NCAA sanctions deprived them of scholarships; and yet, that depth takes away playing time.

Jackson usually starts, then is replaced by Najeh Davenport, who is replaced by Clinton Portis. It's hard to argue with playing so many people, when you see Portis leading the team in rushing with 253 yards on 21 carries (a 12.1 average) and 84.3 yards a game.

Portis broke three toes in practice last week. And with injuries to fullbacks Will McPartland and D.J. Williams, coach Butch Davis made a switch.

He moved Davenport to fullback, putting him in the same backfield with Jackson. They combined for 193 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving in a 64-6 victory over Rutgers.

With the status of McPartland and Williams still in question, the seventh-ranked Hurricanes could take their 1-2 punch into Saturday's game against No. 1 Florida State at the Orange Bowl.

Although it wasn't by design, perhaps this is the best lineup.

"With the rotation, it has been rough this season," said Davenport, who has gained 145 yards on 36 carries. "Now I have a bigger role and I'm working my way back. I was happy just to touch the ball."

The Jackson-Davenport backfield creates more problems for a defense. Because both are effective ball carriers, defenders cannot key on one or the other. The usual fullbacks, McPartland, Robert Williams and D.J. Williams, have combined for just 15 carries.

"Everybody makes a huge issue of our overabundance of talent," Davis said. "All of a sudden, what looks like the strength of the team becomes a very difficult situation."

No matter who plays and how much, it is imperative for the Hurricanes to have success running the ball if they are to beat the Seminoles. It would take some of the pressure off sophomore quarterback Ken Dorsey, and slow FSU's pass rush.

But it won't be easy. The Seminoles are third in the nation against the run, allowing an average of 56.6 yards.

And the Hurricanes have not rushed for more than 100 yards against FSU since 1994, which happens to be the last time they won in the series.

Since then, Miami has managed just 209 yards rushing in five games against the Seminoles, an average of 41.8.

Jackson had 74 yards on 22 carries against the Seminoles last season, but 45 came on one play. Davenport was out for the season with a knee injury. No other back gained more than 5 yards.

Two years ago, James, now with the Colts, was held to 24 yards on 13 carries. Jackson had 88 yards on 17 carries in a backup role.

"Edgerrin James fell into a trap two years ago where every time he touched the ball, he wanted to have that 12-, 15-, 18-, 30-yard run," Davis said. "He was trying to score on every play. Once he settled down, he started rushing for 150, 160 yards a game. The big plays will come if they're just patient."

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