JONESBORO — It’s been hard for Arkansas State fans not to notice running back Michael Dyer over the past week.
Seeing him stretching and in early position drills during spring workouts only confirms the reality that the Red Wolves landed one of the offseason’s biggest transfers.
Dyer, a former All-SEC running back at Auburn who was MVP of the 2011 BCS national championship game, is wearing a black helmet these days and taking handoffs from ASU quarterback Ryan Aplin. It’s been four months since he left Auburn to return to his home state.
Whether Dyer, who rushed for 2,335 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons at Auburn, sees the field this season is still a question. ASU athletic officials are mulling whether to file for a hardship waiver that would allow the Little Rock native to forgo sitting out a year in accordance to NCAA rules.
Yet just the presence of Dyer is a useful tool for the new staff of Coach Gus Malzahn, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Auburn.
“He has been in the system for two years,” ASU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “The tempo isn’t a shock. The plays for him, he knows and is comfortable with. He can help the other backs get adapted and guys as a whole learn to embrace our style.
Dyer, who was not available for interviews, was suspended indefinitely in December by Auburn Coach Gene Chizik and didn’t play in the Tigers’ Chick-fil-A Bowl victory. He chose to follow Malzahn to Jonesboro instead of returning to the Tigers, and since he enrolled in January, he has served as a fountain of knowledge for the Red Wolves, sitting in the front row of team meetings next to junior right guard Cliff Mitchell.
“Dude, he’s good,” Mitchell said. “He’s been great. For him, it’s a bunch of new guys around, but he’s working hard to transition and fit in with us, and it’s gone pretty well.”
There is no doubt having a runner of Dyer’s caliber available this season would be a boon for the Red Wolves. ASU’s average of 154.2 rushing yards per game ranked 64th among 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams last season, and its average of 3.89 yards per carry ranked 79th.
A closer look at those statistics reveals the bulk of the ground game was largely generated by Aplin, who led ASU with 588 yards and 10 touchdowns on 161 carries. Returning running backs Frankie Jackson and SirGregory Thornton struggled at times, combining for just 475 yards and 3 touchdowns on 97 carries.
Lashlee and running backs coach Eli Drinkwitz got their first chance to evaluate ASU’s stable of runners Wednesday during the team’s first spring practice in pads, and they expect to learn more during today’s practice and possibly a short scrimmage Saturday.
Jackson, a 5-9, 185-pound, third-year sophomore, was bothered at times last season by a high-ankle sprain that limited his ability to change directions. Thornton, a 5-11, 190-pound junior was buried on the depth chart behind Jackson and senior running backs Derek Lawson and Jermaine Robertson.
“We’re finding out where their strengths are right now,” Drinkwitz said. “Are they a between-the-tackle runner? Are they a horizontal runner? Do they have speed? Do they have a stick and burst?”
One thing they already know: Having Dyer available would alter the look of Malzahn’s up-tempo, no-huddle offense.
Lashlee said the offense needs to have a physical running game, and Dyer certainly helped provide that last season for the Tigers, who ran the ball 58.2 percent of the time on first down and rushed for 1,367 yards — 57.6 percent of their season total — to finish 31st nationally.
Of those 281 first-down carries, Dyer ran 158 times for 893 yards and 4 touchdowns, and he became the No. 1 option for the Tigers when their passing game struggled in October last season. Against South Carolina, he ran the ball 41 times for 141 yards and 1 touchdown in a 16-13 victory.
“He’s one of the best downhill runners in college football, but he’s not a lateral guy,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got to find a guy that can be a speed-sweep guy.”At the moment, though, the No. 1 priority isn’t finding a complement for a running back who may not even see the field this season. It’s developing a better understanding of what the Red Wolves already have.
“There’s four other backs out there that are giving me great effort,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s all you can ask.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 03/30/2012