Colorado Coach Johnnie Mack Explains Buffaloes Running Back Strategy

Three Colorado Bufflaoes running backs carried it at least 10 times in Atlanta, and position coach Johnnie Mack says that balance is what he wants from the room.

Johnnie Mack was promoted to Colorado running backs coach in February after Marshall Faulk left for Southern. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Colorado Buffaloes finished last among FBS teams in rushing in 2023 and again in 2024. They improved to 104th nationally last season at 125.6 rushing yards per game, which still left plenty of room to change the way the backfield was designed.

The answer did not arrive in the form of one running back. Three Colorado Buffaloes carried the ball at least 10 times in the season-opening win at Georgia Tech; none of them reached 65 yards, and Colorado still finished with 49 rushing attempts.

Damian Henderson II followed Brennan Marion to Boulder from Sacramento State and led Colorado with 62 rushing yards in Atlanta. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Johnnie Mack does not build the room around one starter

Asked Wednesday whether anyone had separated from the group, Colorado running backs coach Johnnie Mack explained that one clear starter was never the goal.

“Well, that was the whole thing this offseason, just having some depth in the room. The thing about our group, I never preach, you know, a starter or whatever. We’re 1A, 1B,” Mack said.

“I tell our guys to practice like everybody’s a starter because I want to have two. We want to get to the point where anybody can get in because things happen, you know.”

The Colorado Buffaloes built the room for a rotation

Colorado running back Damian Henderson II followed offensive coordinator Brennan Marion from Sacramento State, where the 6-2, 205-pound back carried 91 times for 565 yards and five touchdowns last season, including an 85-yard run. He led Colorado with 62 yards on 11 carries in Atlanta.

Running back Micah Welch led Colorado in rushing last season with 384 yards and carried15 times for 58 yards against Georgia Tech, scoring the Buffaloes’ only rushing touchdown. Running back JaQuail Smith, Sacramento State’s third leading rusher as a true freshman with 511 yards, added 42 yards on 10 carries.

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes running back Micah Welch (29) rushes the ball against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Running back DeKalon Taylor added 22 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 24 yards. Alabama transfer Richard Young handled three carries for 10 yards. Five Colorado running backs carried the ball in a one-score road game.

Mack described the room in August by focusing on what each back brings to the table rather than who sits first on the depth chart.

“With our running game, we pretty much run everything. We got big guys, like Damian Hendersons and the Richard Youngs, and then we got the speedsters, and the power guys like Micah Welch - he could be both,” Mack said.

Mack has been around the room long enough to see the change develop. He joined Colorado’s staff in 2024 and worked with running backs as an offensive analyst in 2025. He was promoted in February after Marshall Faulk left to become Southern’s coach.

“I was smiling when Marion got the job because I know his offense was built for running backs to have success,” Mack said in August.

Sacramento State rushed for 3,151 yards under Marion in 2025, an average of 262.6 per game that ranked third in the FCS.

Brennan Marion called 15 straight runs

Brennan Marion leaned on Colorado’s running back depth during the season-opening win at Georgia Tech. | Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jake Schwanitz of DNVR asked Mack about a stretch in which Colorado logged 15 straight rushing plays against Georgia Tech. The sequence fit what Mack has said about the Go-Go offense (the Buffaloes had enough depth to keep rotating backs while Marion stayed with the run).

“We knew in that type of game, we gotta be physical,” Mack said.

Mack said Colorado knew it had to run the football against Georgia Tech and challenge the backs to answer the attention surrounding the Yellow Jackets’ running game.

Colorado held the ball for 34:09 and hosts Weber State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT. Mack was asked whether Week 1 could serve as a foundation, and he kept the focus on what still needs work.

“You’re supposed to build off of that. Use that first game and build on it. We’re never satisfied,” Mack said. “We may have other people out there satisfied, but we’re far from it, and we still got a long way to go.”

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