If there was a silver lining wrapped around the cloud that was West Virginia State's running back injuries in 2015, it was that plenty of runners got a chance to be the featured ball-carrier.
As the Yellow Jackets prepare for Saturday's 3 p.m. spring game, head coach Jon Anderson said to expect more spreading of the wealth.
"Until one of those guys steps up and demands the ball 20 times a game, we'll continue to be running back by committee," he said. "When you've got multiple running backs who can do that, ,that's a good situation. That's a banged-up position every year."
With last year's leading rusher Tyrone Barber - who gained 456 yards and scored 10 touchdowns - off the team and fellow back Tevin Brown still trying to come back from a serious leg injury suffered early last season, the heads of that committee will be rising redshirt junior Kelvit Barrett and rising redshirt sophomore Dionta Brown. The two combined for 606 yards and nine rushing touchdowns last season.
Barrett did most of his damage in the front end of 2015. In his first three games, he gained 216 of his 377 yards and five of his seven touchdowns. The highlight came in a 77-yard, three-touchdown performance against West Virginia Wesleyan.
Brown's impact came at the end of the season, when from Oct. 17 on, he gained 202 of his 229 yards.
"They've been with us for quite a while," Anderson said of the duo. "They've been coached by us and been with us and have continued to develop. They're competing with each other."
That game experience last season was crucial for Brown and Barrett. It's one thing to take handoffs in practice against a scout team defense. It's another to dart through the offensive line against the real opposing defense on Saturdays. Brown said they both understood the importance of that.
"Everybody got a piece of the action," he said. "Getting used to the schemes on offense and how we run things, as of right now, we're all more confident and we're teaching the younger backs."
And there will be younger running backs who will get a shot at joining the committee. Anderson mentioned a couple of rising redshirt freshmen, Bo Fields and Jalique Keene. Fields - "He's raw but has a load of talent," Anderson said - is a stouter back at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds. Brown and Barrett both are listed at 5-9, with Brown listed at 180 pounds and Barrett listed at 185. Green stands at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
Size and experience won't be the determining factors in who carries the ball for West Virginia State, Anderson said. It will be how those players carry the ball when given the opportunity.
"Just like with all our skill players, we're looking for production," Anderson said. "Who's going to demand we put the ball in their hands?"
Brown and Barrett know that with their experience is attached a responsibility. Their charge is to help bring their younger teammates in the running backs room up to speed, to grow their committee of ball-carriers and make sure that group is strong from top to bottom. State's rushing offense ranked ninth in the 12-team Mountain East Conference last season with 109.7 yards per game, and the Yellow Jackets would like to strike a better balance in 2016 between the run and the pass.
"It's not really pressure, but it helps us get better as well," Barrett said. "We know guys are watching us. So that just keeps us on our toes and makes sure we're doing the right thing all the time."