Next Man Up: Beebe Delivers, but Indiana Needs Its Young Running Backs to Grow Up Fast

Indiana needed somebody to take over the game Friday night.

Lee Beebe Jr. answered.

When Turbo Richard went down against Northwestern, Beebe went from being part of Indiana’s running back rotation to becoming the centerpiece of the Hoosiers’ rushing attack. He responded with 24 carries for 203 yards and a touchdown, including a 70-yard fourth-quarter run that helped Indiana create the separation it needed in a 29-23 victory.

It was the kind of performance that answered one question emphatically.

Indiana has a No. 1 running back.

But Richard’s injury also created another question that may become increasingly important as Indiana moves deeper into Big Ten play: Who is ready to become No. 2?

Beebe Was Ready When Indiana Needed Him

This is what coaches mean when they talk about being ready for your opportunity.

Beebe didn’t enter Friday night’s game expecting to carry the football 24 times. Indiana had been able to divide the workload between Beebe and Richard through the first three weeks, giving Mike Shanahan different options within the running game.

Richard was having another productive night before leaving the game, rushing nine times for 68 yards. Then the rotation changed. Beebe became the guy.

And in Indiana’s first close game of the season, against its first Big Ten opponent, he demonstrated that the Hoosiers could put the football in his hands repeatedly and ask him to finish the job.

• 24 carries
• 203 rushing yards
• 8.5 yards per carry
• 1 rushing touchdown
• 70-yard fourth-quarter run

That last run was particularly important. Northwestern had turned what once looked like another comfortable Indiana victory into a one-possession football game. Indiana needed an answer, and Beebe provided it.

That’s a significant development for an offense preparing for the grind of a Big Ten schedule. But it doesn’t eliminate the problem created behind him.

Indiana’s Running Back Room Suddenly Looks Different

Indiana entered this season expecting to have multiple backs capable of sharing the workload. That situation has changed considerably.

Khobie Martin is already sidelined indefinitely. Turbo Richard is now unavailable indefinitely as well.

That leaves Beebe at the top of the rotation, with Sean Cuono and true freshman Jayreon Campbell becoming increasingly important pieces of the running back room until Indiana gets healthier.

That’s where “next man up” becomes more than a coaching cliché.

Indiana doesn’t simply need somebody who can take a handoff when Beebe needs a rest. The Hoosiers need another running back who can function within the complete offense.

Playing Running Back Is More Than Running the Football

Fans understandably see carries, rushing yards and touchdowns when evaluating running backs. Coaches see considerably more.

• Can the back identify pressure?
• Can he handle his responsibility when the defense changes the front?
• Can he step up and block a linebacker who has a free run at Josh Hoover?
• Can he execute the correct route or release in the passing game?
• Can he secure the football when Indiana is protecting a lead in the fourth quarter?
• Can he understand the situation — down, distance, clock and field position — and play accordingly?

Those details determine whether a coaching staff trusts a running back. And trust becomes especially important when you’re protecting your quarterback.

A young back can make an explosive run and still cost the offense badly on the next series by missing a protection. That’s why Shanahan and Curt Cignetti now have an important developmental challenge: accelerate the growth of Cuono and Campbell.

Cuono and Campbell Don’t Have to Become Beebe Overnight

Indiana doesn’t need either young back to suddenly become a 20-carry player. It needs them to become dependable enough to play meaningful snaps.

There’s a progression to that: earn the coaching staff’s trust, earn snaps, then demonstrate that the offense doesn’t have to dramatically change when Beebe leaves the field.

If Cuono and Campbell can provide productive snaps while protecting the football and executing their assignments, Shanahan can maintain a rotation and keep Beebe fresh.

If they can’t, Indiana faces a difficult choice. The Hoosiers could continue putting more of the workload on Beebe, but a Big Ten schedule isn’t particularly forgiving to running backs carrying the football 25 or 30 times every week.

This Is Where Practice Becomes Critical

For Cuono and Campbell, the biggest snaps of the coming week may not happen in a stadium. They’ll happen on the practice field.

Every blitz pickup matters. Every ball-security drill matters. Every protection check matters. Every route matters.

Every rep becomes an opportunity to show the offensive staff: You can trust me when Beebe comes out of the game.

That’s the standard. Not 200 rushing yards. Not a 70-yard touchdown. Trust.

Coach Griff’s Take

Friday night demonstrated two things simultaneously.

The first was extremely encouraging. Lee Beebe Jr. showed Indiana that he’s capable of carrying the load in a Big Ten football game.

Two hundred and three rushing yards in a six-point conference win isn’t simply a good statistical performance. Beebe delivered when Indiana needed somebody to take control of the football game.

The second development deserves just as much attention. Indiana’s running back depth has suddenly become thin.

Richard and Martin being unavailable pushes two young players much closer to meaningful Big Ten snaps than Indiana probably anticipated at this point in the season.

That’s football. Nobody waits until you’re ready.

The schedule doesn’t stop while a young player develops. The next opponent isn’t going to reduce its pressure package because Indiana has inexperienced backs on the field.

That’s why Sean Cuono and Jayreon Campbell don’t have to become stars overnight. They have to become trustworthy.

Beebe has already answered the next-man-up call.

Now Indiana needs the next two men to begin answering theirs.