Hendrix back pulls lot of weight

CONWAY -- One of the most-used running backs in college football listed at 155 pounds -- though he insists he's 160 -- and judging by his hair is closer to Bozo the Clown than a potential All-American.

He doesn't play in Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa and he left high school without one college football team at any level offering him a scholarship.

But Hendrix junior Dayton Winn has put together quite a year for the NCAA Division III Warriors. He's rushed 267 times, the third most at his level, for 1,640 yards, which rank second, and gained a Division III-best 2,527 all-purpose yards while leading the Warriors to the national playoffs for the first time. He's also on the cusp of being Hendrix' first All-American and could be a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III's version of the Heisman.

Though slight in frame, Hendrix Coach Buck Buchanan can't overstate what Winn's meant for Hendrix' breakout season.

"Dayton just has the ability to make things happen," Buchanan said. "I think he has Predator vision. I think he sees sideline-to-sideline. Our whole goal is to just get him to the second level and see what happens. And that's usually a good plan."

Make no mistake, Hendrix (8-2) has other pieces. All five offensive linemen are third-year starters and quarterback Seth Peters completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 254.7 yards per game with 25 touchdowns. But, Winn's ability to hit holes as helped turn Hendrix into the force it has been this year.

"He's like finding a moving needle inside of a haystack," Buchanan said.

Winn laughs off the compliments. He credited his line and the other juniors who came to the Conway campus in the fall of 2013 to help restart a football program that had sat dormant for more than 50 years.

The workload, Winn said, has never bothered him. He had a similar role at Pea Ridge High School, a Class 4A school in Benton County near the Missouri border, and sat down with coaches before this season and discussed what he was about to endure.

"I knew my role was going to be a pretty big part of the offense," he said.

It showed most on Oct. 3, when Hendrix, 2-1 at the time, visited Centre in Danville, Ky. Centre was 3-1 at the time with victories over Hendrix in each of the last two seasons. Winn's first carry went for a 51-yard touchdown and he was off. By the end of the day, he had 52 carries for 283 yards and 5 touchdowns.

His final score was a 2-yard go-ahead touchdown run and he also had 154 yards in kick returns. His 437 all-purpose yards that game are the most in Division III this year and his 52 carries are the most of any player in one game at any level of NCAA football.

"Coach [Jordan] Neal, our offensive coordinator, said things were just working and we just kept hitting that button that worked, and it just flowed like that," Winn said.

"We just grabbed Dayton and said 'We're putting it on your back today,' and it was pretty special," Buchanan said.

Winn hasn't equaled those totals again, but his special season has continued while the Warriors have won six of their past seven games. He had 176 yards on 30 carries the next week in a victory over Birmingham-Southern and had 197 yards at Chicago and against Washington (Mo.). He had a relatively light load in the regular-season finale -- 108 yards on 18 carries -- but Hendrix beat Sewanee 19-0 so he wasn't needed as much.

Winn hasn't complained of fatigue all year, Buchanan said, nor can the coach remember him doing so in three years. Not even last year when Winn played the final six games with a foot strain that required him to sit out practice with a boot on has Buchanan heard Winn mention a desire for a lighter load.

"We just try to be smart," Buchanan said. "We try to rotate as much as possible. But, then again, you don't want to take away his opportunities, either. I mean, he's as good as anybody in the country and he's No. 1 in just about everything, and you don't want him to not be No. 1."

It's led Hendrix to the playoffs for the first time, where it will play Huntingdon College at noon Saturday in Montgomery, Ala. When the Warriors get there, they'll likely put the ball in the hands of an undersized back who was drawn to Hendrix by strong academics and the ability to help build a program from scratch.

"I'm just blessed to have coaches who trust me with the ball that much, and teammates who trust me as well," Winn said. "And those who really throw their heart into the game for me, like I do for them. It's really been a blessed season."

Sports on 11/20/2015