With injuries to the offensive line and backfield, the offense has incorporated more plays from the ‘Hound’ formation into its weekly game plan.
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Coming into the 2010 season there were many question marks surrounding the running back position, especially with Ryan Mathews leaving a year early for NFL and the losses of Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding to graduation.
But halfway through the season, the running game is starting to emerge after a slow start behind back-to-back 100-yard performances by running back Robbie Rouse.
“I think Rouse is really getting a good picture of it now, really getting a good feel for it,” head coach Pat Hill said. “He’s running very hard. He’s very decisive in his runs.”
Rouse opened the season against Cincinnati with 50 yards rushing while playing at less than 100 percent after injuring an ankle late into fall camp.
But Rouse’s injury woes would continue to stint his development as a featured back after also spraining his shoulder just one game into the season. The injury to his shoulder and ankle would make Rouse miss the following game against Utah State.
In Rouse’s absence, sophomore A.J. Ellis picked up the slack to record the Bulldogs’ first 100-yard rushing effort of the year. Ellis exploded for a career-high and season-high 165 yards and two touchdowns.
But like Rouse, Ellis also caught the injury bug on the road against Mississippi with a toe injury. With Ellis out, Rouse has regained his starting role and is excelling in the “Hound” packages.
“He’s [Rouse] on top of it now and I just think he’ll keep improving,” Hill said. “I’d like to see A.J. Ellis get back into a groove, back like he was going into the Utah State game.”
Ellis returned after a four week absence against San Jose State last Saturday to record six carries for 10 yards after missing three games at Bulldog Stadium.
“A.J. Ellis made it through OK,” Hill said. “He’s had two days of practice and a game now. Hopefully, he’ll be full speed by [Lousiana] Tech. I thought he played alright.”
With nagging injuries to Ellis, Rouse and the running back corps, the offense has incorporated more of the “Hound” package into their weekly game plan to help generate yards through the ground. Hill said the team plans to expand on the package.
In the “Hound,” Rouse lines up behind the center in shotgun formation with an option to either take a direct snap right through the middle of the defense or to hand it off to a running Jalen Saunders on a fly sweep.
“It’s just something we needed to work on,” Hill said. “We’ve been working on it and wanted to work on it. Our regular run game was working OK, but the fly sweeps and stuff started spreading [the defense] out a little bit which opened it up for Robbie inside. The combination of Robbie and Jalen Saunders was helpful.”
The “Hound” package has kept opposing defenses honest. Hill explained that the running formation has also kept defenses guessing on what play the ‘Dogs are going to run on offense.
“It’s just a good change up,” Hill said. “What it does is it spreads the defense out a little bit more. If people want to stay tight you put the ball on the perimeter. If they start moving with the motion you’re hitting up inside with the quarterback. There’s still a lot more we can do out of it. It was very, very basic, but we wanted to get a chance to put it on film and work with it.”
With the “Hound,” the ‘Dogs have been able to rack up yards behind a depleted offensive line. Against San Jose State, Rouse carried the ball 27 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns with backups Leslie Cooper and Richard Helepiko in the lineup. Helepiko made his first career start filling in for the injured Joe Bernardi, while Cooper has started his fifth game in a row in place of Andrew Jackson.
“I like it because I have control of the ball,” Rouse said. “I like the ‘Hound.’”