Grubb Breaks Down 8 Husky Running-Back Candidates

A year ago during spring practice, Ryan Grubb was more than a little perplexed. Nearly all of his inherited University of Washington running backs were injured, dressed in yellow vests and either out or limited in what they could do.

New to the job, the Husky offensive coordinator primarily relied on Aaron Dumas and Jay'Veon Sunday to get through 15 practices — and those ball carriers, once the season played out, appeared in exactly one game, specifically a lone series, between them.

These days, Grubb is a much happier Husky coach. The offensive genius for coach Kalen DeBoer is now working with a full complement of personnel.

He's got all kinds of rushers engaged in a furious struggle for snaps, carries and defining plays leading up to the April 22 Spring Game.

He has eight scholarship backs currently vying for his attention, four times the introductory crew he had taking handoffs 12 months earlier.

"There's a ton of competition in there," Grubb said.

Through seven practices, the clear front-runner for the job is junior Cam Davis, who amazingly scored 13 touchdowns in a Husky back-up role to the departed Wayne Taulapapa, a Virginia transfer.

The junior from Rancho Cucamonga, California, the back-up last season, is the designated No. 1 running back halfway through UW spring football practice.

The Mississippi State transfer is a versatile back who brings hefty SEC stats to Montlake: 229 carries for 1,198 yards and 11 scores and 149 catches for 864 yards and a TD.

The Arizona State transfer, who scored against the Huskies on a short run last season, has an older brother, Ariel, who was a UW linebacker before leaving for Sacramento State.

The Lancaster, California, product has been a big scorer for the UW in 2019 (11 TDs rushing and receiving), a starter in 2021 (3 games) and productive bowl player (threw a TD pass in Las Vegas Bowl, ran for 44 yards in the Alamo Bowl).

This running back from Bakersfield, California, was the first commit of the Huskies' 2023 recruiting class and played on a high school team coached by ex-Husky RB Rashaan Shehee.

He's the son and grandson of former NFL players who carry his name, with his dad and his grandfather playing as defensive and offensive linemen in the pros. He caught TD passes against Arizona and Colorado.

The New Mexico transfer is trying to make a breakthrough after going from the Lobos' leading rusher (658 yards) in 2021 to a redshirt player last season in Montlake.

A converted wide receiver from Nebraska, Nixon scored on touchdown runs against Stanford and Portland State. His father, Jeff, is the running-backs coach for the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Davis has shown notable improvement, such as being more adept at picking his lanes to slide through and utilize his 4.5-second, 40-yard speed.

"If today was a game, he'd be RB-1 for sure," Grubb said.

Lining up behind Davis, in no particular order, are Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson, Arizona State transfer Daniyel Ngata, part-time 2021 UW starter Richard Newton, one-time Nebraska transfer Will Nixon, Dumas the one-time New Mexico transfer, sophomore holdover Sam Adams II and early arriving freshman Tybo Rogers.

Johnson, a 6-foot, 216-pound junior, reported for the UW's fourth spring practice once he was able to enroll following the quarter break. He offered a glimpse of his impressive skill set, which includes a strong set of hips as well as a lethal stiff arm. Yet minor injuries put him on the sideline for the past two practices, still in uniform but idle and uninvolved.

"Dillon can make you miss a little bit, but also is a very, very powerful kid," Grubb said. "Breaks a lot of tackles."

At 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, Ngata is among the shortest of the UW running-back candidates, but no less a viable candidate for meaningful snaps.

"Daniyel is a little more of a speed guy," Grubb said. "If he gets out in the open, he can hurt a defense, maybe go the distance, a little bit of that home-run threat."

Rogers, at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, has been given plenty of opportunity to audition his skills. He's extra swift and brings a serious approach to the position.

"Tybo definitely has an edge to him," Grubb said. "That's one thing I loved about recruiting him. He's a very serious kid. He definitely has an edge to him You crack a joke and he's probably going to barely smile, and I like that about him. Just a good, tough kid."

Besides the aforementioned Davis, Newton and Adams are veteran products of the UW football program coming through rather than transfers.

A sixth-year senior, Newton is a proven commodity with 10 touchdown runs in 2019 and three starts in 2021. He also came off the bench and supplied 44 yards rushing in the Alamo Bowl playing in place of Davis, who was was injured and couldn't go. Yet Newton is a well-worn player who's had knee surgery not that long ago and probably no longer quite the player he once was.

After missing spring and fall camps with a string of injuries last year, Adams was pushed into duty and caught a couple of touchdown passes last season. He recently scored on a pair of touchdown runs in practice, bringing him added attention.

"What is Sam Adams?" Grubb asked. "What can he really do?"

Nixon is a physical player who played some last year and scored twice on short runs. However, his blocking skills have held him back.

"Nixon needs to work on pass protection," Grubb said. "Let's make him pick the pace up and see if he can get any better at it."

That leaves Dumas, the only one of these running backs who's registered a 100-yard rushing game at the college level, picking up 143 against Grubb, DeBoer and Fresno State in 2021.

The 5-foot-9, 199-pound Dumas redshirted last season and hasn't been able to leapfrog the others for scrimmage reps. He's more of a power back, similar to Caleb Berry, Emeka Megwa and Sunday, all fellow Texans who left the UW program because they didn't fit the Grubb/DeBoer offense, with Berry now at Incarnate Word and Megwa at Oklahoma.

"His speed is probably the biggest thing," Grubb said of Dumas.

Eight spring practices remain to see how this key position battle further plays out. The best thing about it: just one guy, Johnson, is limited by injury concerns.

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