UNLV’s Tony Sanchez will continue to use backfield by committee

PASADENA, Calif. — Emmitt Smith appears to be safe, or at least that career rushing record of his in the NFL. The game’s highest level is mostly past the time of workhorse running backs, where the allocation of carries is more evenly distributed behind just one star.

(Adrian Peterson, by the way, disagrees with all of the above.)

It’s no different in college and, for that, Tony Sanchez is thankful Saturday for the depth his roster appears to feature in the backfield. In routing Jackson State by 50 points to open its season last week, UNLV had five backs gain at least 30 yards, and three got 10 or more carries.

“The holes were big,” said sophomore starter Lexington Thomas, who rushed for 68 yards and two scores on 11 attempts. “We had a couple huge ones. Last year, they were here and there, but the holes we had (against Jackson State), I didn’t expect them to be that big. I believe they will be the same exact size (this week).”

Yeah. About that.

Thomas’ confidence is admirable, but the Rebels are about to witness an entirely different stratosphere of competition when meeting UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. The ocean-sized holes that UNLV’s offensive front delivered against an overmatched Football Championship Subdivision team will be much harder to create against bigger, faster, more physical sorts from the Pac-12, especially the kind who opened their season losing at Texas A&M in overtime.

The ocean might more resemble a puddle.

None of it will stop Sanchez from giving multiple backs an opportunity. The opening week of college football saw a handful of elite programs rotate quarterbacks in high-pressure games, of which there is no comparison when doing so with running backs or any other position. It’s just not the same.

“There is nothing on the field that compares to being a quarterback or playing more than one of those guys,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think you’re going to see a 30-carry guy with us. Our running backs are still real young, and as the season goes on, inevitably it’s a physical game, our depth will end up helping us quite a bit.

“You really have to be a multitalented guy now. We have different kinds of guys, but they all have decent hands. I don’t know if any of them are great pass catchers, but they do a pretty good job. Back in the day, I don’t know if good hands were such a huge thing for running backs. You were just that I-back who got downhill. But now, you have to pass-protect and catch the ball out of the backfield, be a guy who is elusive.”

It would seem UNLV has enough of that, beginning with Thomas, generously listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds. He grew up wanting to play defensive back or safety, enjoyed watching Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson but didn’t pattern his game after him, and enjoys running between the tackles more than you might imagine someone of his stature.

His backup is freshman Charles Williams, who rushed 12 times for a team-high 96 yards against Jackson State. He’s a tad bigger (5-9, 175) than Thomas and is one of those slashing backs who puts his foot in the ground, makes his cut, runs through tackles and then just goes. He’s really, really fast.

“The more you can do, the more versatile you are, the more packages you will find yourself in,” Williams said. “It’s more about technique than anything, being in the right place at the right time. I have to stop high school ways from taking over and get into the college ways — know my assignment, my alignment, be very precise and decisive with your cuts, don’t dance in the hole, just keep moving forward.”

If there is a fullback in a college backfield nowadays, he likely wasn’t recruited as one. He was probably a linebacker who was inserted into the spot for blocking purposes. There are few broader terms in football than pro-style offense, but it’s mostly about linemen who are adept at pass and run blocking, a quarterback who isn’t defined by mental lapses and a running back who doesn’t shy away from contact.

Sanchez believes, in his second season as coach, the Rebels have far more of such skills than in his first.

“You see it with a lot of teams when you’re comparing goal line and short yardage to open-field situations in terms of different kinds of backs,” Sanchez said. “You need different bodies, a variety.”

I’m not sure all the balance and depth will make much of a difference Saturday, when UCLA and a defensive front that features preseason All-America tackle Eddie Vanderdoes tries to make a statement after surrendering 203 rushing yards at Texas A&M. The six offensive linemen expected to see time against the Rebels have combined for 74 career starts.

Translation: Sometimes, even this close to the beach, oceans are hard to come by.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney