McNeese Position Preview: Led by Ryan Ross, diverse running back group looks to aid offensive line
Published 6:07 pm Tuesday, August 23, 2016
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Sweeping to his left with a running back following him during Tuesday’s practice at Cowboys Stadium, Lewayne Ross lowered himself toward an oncoming defender to clear a lane. Pad met helmet with ferocity.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">The defender’s mouthpiece dislodged from his mouth and flew into the air, landing in the grass feet from the play while defensive coaches yelled in approval.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Lewayne, like his older brother Ryan, is a running back. The unquestioned leader of this contrasting group of ball carriers, Ryan’s accolades are many, adding one more Tuesday when he was McNeese’s lone representative and one of 21 running backs on the 40-man watch list for the FCS National Performer of the Year Award.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">“A guy like Lewayne, you can use him for power, you can use Dylan Long for power,” Justin Pratt said. “Ryan, he can pretty much do it all.”
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">That is Ryan’s task this season, with Pratt as his primary backup and both Long and Lewayne splitting time in an H-back role while McNeese deals with an early lack of tight end depth.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Coach Lance Guidry told The American Press Monday that junior tight end DeonDre Skinner will miss the Cowboys’ first two games due to NCAA academic hour issues from last school year.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Enter Long, at 6-foot and 218 lbs., and Lewayne,at 6-foot, 256 lbs., both of whom rotated in at fullback and H-back on Monday to fill the void.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">“It’s always important for us to always be the more physical team, to come out and set the tone,” Ryan said. “But having some versatile backs, some speed backs, some power backs, it gives us more things we can do on the offensive side of the ball.”
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Ryan’s placed the onus on himself to command the position group as it lines up behind an offensive line still attempting to find continuity while replacing three starters.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">“You can kind of take the pressure off the line a little bit because … you have different skillsets in the backfield, where you have big backs,” Guidry said. “A lot of times, with a big back and a scat back, all you need is a tie up front. If you can get a body on a body a big guy can bang through or a little guy can find a little bitty hole. But we think Ryan can do both, he can be elusive and he can run with power.”
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Pratt, therefore, is the little guy who admitted to “kind of hiding behind the (offensive) line.” He stands 5-foot-7 with curly hair and little in the way of words. He chooses, instead, to note everything Ryan does on and off the field.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Pratt came to McNeese from Spring, Texas and Klein Collins High School.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">“We were pretty much a running team,” Pratt said. “They kept me from everything. But, up here, (McNeese) got me on kick return, they got me pass blocking, going out for routes and everything and it’s a big change. So I’m looking up to Ryan, looking up to all the older guys to see what I need to do.”
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">Ryan lauded Pratt’s growth, noting the true freshman is only suffering from a lack of game speed. Same with Lewayne, who redshirted last season.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">They’ll all get a fair dose of it soon, behind a retooled offensive line that could suffer from similar growing pains.
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">“We can kind of help them out and chip the (defensive) line or something,” Pratt said. “But whenever we see the hole, we just have to hit it. Just do a running back’s job.”
