Running backs determined to fill Benjamin void with collective effort

The moment Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin formally decided to forgo his senior season to declare for the 2020 NFL draft, a huge void was created in the Sun Devil offense.

Although Benjamin experienced a significant statistical drop-off from his program record-setting 1,642-yard season in 2018, he still rushed for 1,083 yards in 2019. It marked ASU’s third straight season with a 1,000-yard rusher and Benjamin even set a career-high in receiving yards and receptions, with 42 catches for 347 yards.

With all of that gone, it will be up to a group of young, inexperienced running backs to provide the Sun Devils some firepower from the backfield. Through the early days of Spring practice, it appears redshirt sophomore A.J. Carter along with true freshmen Daniyel Ngata and DeaMonte Trayanum will be the top guys seeing the field this Fall.

“We all try to help each other,” Ngata said. “If one person makes a mistake, we try to get them straight, just so the team moves well, so we don’t move slow, because we’re always trying to move fast.

“Our whole goal is to try to win as many games as possible…we try to help each other a lot. We get along real good, we’re good friends.”

Trayanum expressed a similar sentiment, saying they all collaborate and make sure any questions are answered so they can all be on the same page. Presumptively, this also includes redshirt freshman running back Demetrious Flowers, who has been out due to personal reasons but should also get his opportunity for reps once he returns.

Overall, it’s hard to expect any one of these guys will step up and become a primary rusher, which might just actually be perfect for new offensive coordinator Zak Hill.

“Last year with (former offensive coordinator Rob) Likens, it was just a one-man running back,” Carter said. “Coach Hill, when he was at Boise State, rotated at least three running backs, so you know, fresh legs. Everybody can help the offense move the chains.”

Even though Boise State had a clear number one rusher who went for 1,000 yards and averaged just short of 14 carries per game, they did have some balance with a second guy rushing for 425 yards, and averaging over seven carries per game, then a third who got 265 yards and averaged more than four carries per contest.

This does serve as a nice comparison to ASU’s one-man show in Benjamin, as Carter describes, which didn’t see him or any of his positional teammates even average two carries per game. At times, it wasn’t hard to see why this was the case, with Carter dropping passes and fumbling balls on several occasions when he was put in games.

However, the 6’0’’, 218-pound running back from Louisiana looks forward to a fresh start in 2020.

“I’m not worrying about last year, what happened with me. It’s a clean slate for everyone,” Carter said. “We have a new offense, new offensive coordinator, a couple of the same coaches—new coaches as well, too. It’s just a new slate for everybody.

“We’re trying not to fumble the ball at all this season. We’re trying to move the chains, be productive and do our part in this offense.”

There’s no questioning the potential in all three guys that have seen the field this Spring. Carter was once recruited by this season’s national champion, his hometown LSU Tigers, while both Ngata (53rd) and Trayanum (285th) ranked in ESPN’s top 300 recruits for 2020 regardless of position.

Of course, it will take a mastered understanding of the offense, which is new for both the freshmen and Carter alike, to maximize this potential on the field. By all accounts, the young running backs have been doing their part thus far.

“We’re still getting this new offense all in our heads,” Ngata said. “We’ve been all doing good, trying to move at a fast pace, trying to move through coach Hill’s offense. Everything else is going really good.”

“The first time I looked at (the playbook) it looked alien,” Trayanum admitted. “But the more and more you look at it, it’s actually similar, and everything binds together. So, one thing complements another. So actually, now when I look at it it’s really simple, so they did a really good job easing us into it.”

On the field, Trayanum has certainly not been eased into the action in any sense. Rather, he was thrown into lots of plays with both the first and second teams, seeming to see the field more on Tuesday than anyone else at his position.

While he had his drops in the passing game, he certainly took the right attitude about what he believes for himself was a subpar day in practice. After all, it’s only his second time in any kind of live action at the collegiate level.

“That’s me showing that I’m an every-down back, and today wasn’t a real good day,” Trayanum said. “Just try to relax and play my game. But it was good, I like it a lot because it shows my versatility.

“Honestly, just me coming out here trying to prove myself every day, just tried to do it a little bit too hard today. Just really got to calm down, relax, just hone in on my element and just really play football and do what I do.”

As the oldest back in the room, Carter seems to be doing his part in trying to offer this young duo good advice and set them on the right type of mindset to be successful.

“I just tell them you’re going to make mistakes, you can’t practice perfect, you can’t play perfect,” Carter said. “Just play with no worries, just give it our all. Just no thinking, know what you have to do, get out there and just ball out. That’s all you have to do.”

It can certainly be difficult to see any star running backs emerging out of this trio right away, especially given the standard that Benjamin has set in Tempe over the past two seasons. But none of them need to look too flashy right now, with still over a half-year before this team takes the field to kick off the 2020 season.

Hill has not only established his ability to effectively utilize multiple running backs in a high-scoring offense, but also use his schemes and play-calling that involves lots of pre-snap motions to keep defenses guessing and on their toes.

If these young running backs can each play a small part in the offense as they gain experience and continue to grow, there’s certainly enough potential in the entire group where at least one of them could emerge as the program’s fourth consecutive thousand-yard rusher.

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