6A — Thursday, September 10, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Despite mistakes, Smith enjoys role as lead RB

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

From the time junior running 

back De’Veon Smith played in 
his first career game in 2013 to 
the beginning of fall camp for 
the Michigan football team this 
year, there always seemed to be 
someone in front of him.

Smith was a contender in the 

running back competition as 
soon as he set foot on campus as 
a freshman, but he carried seven 
times for just 12 yards, while then-
fifth-year senior Fitz Touissant 
rushed 14 times for 57 yards and 
two touchdowns. Touissant beat 
out Smith and then-freshman 
Derrick Green for the job, and 
Smith didn’t touch the ball again 
until November.

Then 
Touissant 
graduated, 

and Smith had another chance. 
This time, he made more of an 
impression, scoring twice on 
eight carries in the season opener. 
But Green rushed 15 times for 170 
yards, earning more touches in 
five of the first six games.

Then Green 

broke 
his 

collarbone Oct. 
4, ending his 
season. Smith 
had 
three 

games in the 
spotlight before 
Drake Johnson 
entered 
the 

fold, and Smith 
had to split time again.

“I really didn’t pay attention to 

any of that,” Smith said. “I was just 

trying my hardest to be No. 1.”

Still, three times, he had his 

chance. Three times, someone 
else took it.

This past spring, he came back 

under a new head coach, new 
offensive coordinator and new 
running backs coach, and the 

competition 
was 
tighter 

than 
ever 

before. 
Green 

was 
healthy, 

Johnson 
was 

on his way back 
and junior Ty 
Isaac 
became 

eligible 
after 

transferring 

from Southern California in 2014.

This time, Smith emerged as 

the victor.

Thursday brought his reward: 

In the season opener at Utah, 
Smith earned 17 carries to Isaac’s 
four and Green’s two. He again 
appeared as the No. 1 back on this 
week’s depth chart. Asked if he 
considers himself the No. 1 back, 
he finally got to simply say yes.

“I always go into the game 

expecting and hoping that I get 
a lot of carries,” Smith said. “Any 
running back in our room right 
now expects to get a lot of carries 
if they’re in the game. So it really 
wasn’t that big of a surprise for 
me. It was more of a humbling 
experience. First game, first time 
I’ve really started at Michigan, so 
I learned from my mistakes and 
just try to get better every week.”

Smith’s performance wasn’t 

his best, with just 2.8 yards per 

carry with a long run of seven 
yards. He broke a number of 
tackles, more than Green or Isaac, 
but struggled to find open space.

“Just reading the holes, I try to 

improve my vision,” Smith said. 
“The vision that I watched on 
film, that wasn’t really how I play 
from the point of seeing stuff. 
That’s something I’m trying to 
improve on this week.”

Smith only has one game in 

his career with more than the 17 
carries he had Thursday. In fact, 
Michigan’s running backs had just 
two such games all of last season.

If Smith can improve along 

with the rest of the team, he 
may be establishing himself as 
a workhorse going forward. He 
already has items on his list to 
improve upon.

“One of those plays (against 

Utah), I missed a hole that a bus 
could drive through,” Smith said. 
“That’s probably one of the bigger 
ones that stuck out to me, kind of 
got under my skin. And also the 
dropped pass that I had, that’s not 
characteristic of me at all. Just 
making sure I keep my eyes on 
the ball, tuck the ball in before I 
catch it.”

Smith said at one point in 

reviewing film, he asked running 
backs coach Tyrone Wheatley 
what the offense could change to 
have more success. Wheatley told 
him to stick with the game plan 
and eventually it would work.

Results came slowly in the 

opener, but in his third year, 
Smith may finally have a chance 
to make some improvements.

FOOTBALL

“I missed a hole 
that a bus could 
drive through.”

