Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY DAN MURPHY junior linebacker Dan Fox graciously provided in practice last week. "Fox caught me," Riddick said with F an ear-to-ear grin. "He came around on a loop, and he got me pretty good one time, but that's part of the transition." Riddick couldn't help but smile af- ter a Saturday afternoon bowl prac- tice when talking about his move from slot receiver to his former position at running back. He said he was happy to line up wherever the coaching staff needed him, but the junior's words be- lied the fresh bounce in his step that he had not shown since the preseason. or Irish junior Theo Riddick, there are a few growing pains that come along with his return to the backfield, such as the lump tection very seriously this season, and it has paid big dividends for an Irish offense that gave up only 13 sacks this season. "That's very crucial to this offense," Riddick said. "Picking up the blitzes, that's the major thing in the spread of- fense. Just knowing the details for each play Is the major concern right now." The transition was slow during the first full week in December. With most of the coaching staff running from one high school to the next for recruiting trips, they did not have much time to break down film with Riddick. Kelly said Riddick was eager to pick the coach's brain at the start of bowl practice, but a busy travel schedule kept them from connecting right away. He has turned to current starter and fellow junior Cierre Wood for pointers Back For Good? Theo Riddick's transition to running back could be permanent The Manville, N.J., native was the nation's 10th best running back recruit in 2009 according to Rivals.com and played in the backfield as a freshman under head coach Charlie Weis. He ran for 160 yards on 29 carries in his rookie season. Current head coach Brian Kelly moved Riddick out to wide receiver at the start of his sophomore season to try to take advantage of his athleti- cism in open space. Riddick remained at the Z receiver spot until the final game of the regular season this year when he stepped in to help replace se- nior running back Jonas Gray, who had a season-ending knee injury the week before. Learning a new position 12 weeks into the season is not an easy task. Rid- dick said the details of each play and the nuances of pass blocking — like figuring out where linebackers like Fox are coming from — have been his main focus since taking over the new role in the week leading up to the Stanford game. The Irish running backs have taken their responsibilities in pass pro- Theo Riddick, who ran for 160 yards on 29 car- ries in his rookie season before being converted into a receiver, returned to his old position in the regular-season finale against Stanford. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI www.BLUEANDGOLD.com on finding the rhythm in a suddenly new playbook. Riddick and Wood, a 1,000-yard rusher and the team's undisputed starter in the backfield, were recruited together as running backs and have re- mained close off the field. Riddick said he has leaned on his old friend in the film room in early December and also when he needed help getting the tim- ing right on the several different varia- tions of run plays in the Irish offense. Once Riddick got the rock in his hands, everything else came back pretty quickly for the natural ball car- rier. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Hendrix said he was in awe after get- ting his first real look at Riddick run- ning the ball in practice. Hendrix re- called one play in particular when the junior had both of his shoes at eye level yet managed to come out of a pile on his feet and keep running. "Theo cuts like no one I've ever seen before," Hendrix said. "He's quick, he's fast — he's just an exceptional athlete." Notre Dame's schedule hasn't helped to make the transition any easier for Riddick. He made his debut with four carries for six yards against Stanford's fifth-ranked rushing defense. Next up is Florida State, which has the second- best run defense in the country, allow- ing only 81.8 rushing yards per game. The Seminoles have allowed only one running back to top 100 yards so far this season — Wake Forest's Josh Har- ris had 136 yards on 13 carries. The going can only get easier for Rid- dick if he remains at running back for his senior season, which is still a possi- bility but not yet a certainty. Wood will be the only back returning with signifi- cant playing experience. Notre Dame has three unproven backs in sopho- more Cam Roberson, who sat out this season with a knee injury, and fresh- men Cam McDaniel and George Atkin- son III. The Irish missed on a couple of big-time prospects they were recruiting such as Keith Marshall and Byron Mar- shall and could use another veteran player to help Wood next season. "There's some room at the top for a guy like Theo Riddick," Kelly said after Notre Dame's first bowl practice. "I don't want to put my hand down and say we're never going to move him again, but he looks comfortable at running back right now." Riddick's two-year experiment at wide receiver has produced lukewarm results. He had promising games such as his 10-catch, 128-yard performance against Michigan State last year and two touchdown grabs in a losing ef- fort against Michigan this season. Slowed by injuries in the second half of each season, the junior never became a consistent threat to draw defenses away from options like Michael Floyd or tight end Tyler Eifert. Riddick had 36 catches for 429 yards in 10 games this season, a flat trajectory from his 40 catches for 414 yards as a sophomore. Junior Robby Toma showed he was capable of handling the slot position when Riddick was sidelined with a hamstring injury against Maryland and Boston College. The 5-9 Hawaiian had 12 catches for 138 yards during those two games. Kelly also said current sophomore TJ Jones was comfortable moving from split end to slot receiver when needed. Riddick said he didn't mind where he played as long as it led to wins. He will practice exclusively with the backs during the next three weeks, but any- thing beyond that he left in the coaches' hands. "Right now it's all up in the air," he said. "Coach Kelly said I'm playing running back at the bowl game. You can have me down as a running back until that game's over." ✦ JANUARY 2012 21