Dave Doeren: Running backs ‘the deepest group I’ve had’

Ricky Person is a top breakout candidate heading into the 2019 season, not simply for his obvious talents, but also because he’s finally healthy. Dave Doeren spent a good bit of time after practice Saturday talking about Person’s development, as well as the running back group as a whole.

Person sat out the spring as he continued to recover from the various injuries he endured last fall, and Doeren mentioned that he had a procedure done during the offseason as well.

On Person:

“He had a postseason repair. It was just taking our time with the protocol. He had a lot of things when he got here from his wrist to his hamstring to his hip. We just wanted to get him right heading into fall camp.”

“It’s a lot different. When he came in, he had a broken bone in his hand, so he couldn’t do upper body. Then he had his hip and his hamstring, so we were always limiting him in the weight room where now he’s doing everything that everybody’s doing. He’s gotten almost 215 pounds. He’s gained weight, and he’s training. He looks good.”

It’s impressive what Person was able to do on the field considering how limited he was off of it. Going through the year without being able to do everything the staff would want him to do in the weight room is tough, especially so for a true freshman.

He still averaged 12 carries per game, and it’s a safe bet that workload will increase with the injury hurdles out of the way.