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Crawford aims for 2,000-yard season

By B.J. Rains

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Don’t tell Jocques Crawford, but only 13 times in NCAA Division I football has a running back rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

The junior college transfer, who rushed for 1,935 yards on 283 attempts last year at Cisco Junior College, has his sights set on that elite number.

“When I talk to my family, a personal goal I set for myself is that I want to rush for 2,000 yards,” Crawford said. “I don’t know if I’ll achieve it, but thats my goal.”

Crawford, who once had 45 carries during a game at Cisco, will split carries with junior Jake Sharp, similar to how Brandon McAnderson and Sharp shared the job a year ago. Still, Crawford knows that whether he does it by himself or not, he and Sharp are both capable of reaching that elite 2,000-yard mark together after having success during practice against Kansas’ starting defense.

“That’s a special, high number for college running backs,” Crawford said. “But after working with my offensive line and seeing the holes that they are opening up against our ones, I just feel that it’s something that me or Jake can accomplish - getting 2,000 yards together. We have a good line so we’re going to have a lot of rushing yards this year.”

The depth chart released by the football team Monday listed Sharp as the starter over Crawford, but coach Mark Mangino confirmed Tuesday that both will see significant playing time this Saturday against Florida International.

“Jake Sharp is a veteran guy who knows the system and knows what to expect,” Mangino said. “Jocques is new with us. He’s still learning. But he’s going to play, believe me. He’s going to get a lot of carries and he’s going to play and play a role in this game. But based on maturity, dependibility and understanding the offense right now, we feel like Jake Sharp can handle that load of being the starter at this point. But don’t worry, Jocques will play a lot. He will play significantly.”

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Crawford rushed for more than 200 yards in five different games last season, including a 328-yard, three-touchdown performance against Trinity Valley. His 1,935 yards were the most by a junior college running back since 2000.

Sharp rushed for 821 yards and scored seven touchdowns on only 147 carries last year as the backup to McAnderson. He rushed for more than 100 yards three different times and ranked 12th in the Big 12 Conference in rushing with an average of 65.15 rushing yards per game.

“We’re both very confident in what we can do for the team,” Sharp said. “It’s going to be a good deal for us, I think. He does a lot of things very well and I can bring my game to the table. It’s just going to be a real good package for us, I believe.”

The Kansas rushing game last season was 31st in the nation and fifth in the Big 12, with an average of 188.8 rushing yards per game, thanks in large part to the offensive line. Redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes will make their debuts at the tackle positions and, with returning center Ryan Cantrell at center and Adrian Mayes and Chet Hartley at guard, should form another strong unit capable of producing large numbers on the ground.

“It’s probably going to be the best offensive line I’ve ever played with,” Crawford said. “I can only imagine how many yards I can rack up with an offensive line like this.”

— ­— Edited by Mary Sorrick

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