In October 2012, a 50-yard touchdown run by then-freshman running back Jeremy Hill sealed a victory in the fourth quarter against South Carolina, and introduced Hill to Baton Rouge.
Saturday, a similar 58-yard touchdown sprint in the opening moments of the game was Hill’s re-introduction to the scene, en-route to LSU’s 45-13 victory against the Kent State Golden Flashes.
For Hill, whose offseason actions have plagued the start of his sophomore year, his season-high 11 carries, 117 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday were more of a homecoming than the traditional game ever could be.
“Just getting out there, it brought some moments back to me.” Hill said. “Things are back to normal in my book. I’m not looking back on anything and just moving forward. I think that’s just my whole mindset right now. I’m just trying to get better on my mistakes and just continue to be a better football player.”
But Hill’s resurgence wasn’t the only highlight of Saturday night. The Tigers produced more than 300 yards on the ground, largely because of Hill’s performance and junior running back Terrence Magee’s career-high 108 yards, all of which came in the second half.
Although Hill received the bulk of carries in 2012 and has seemingly proven himself
deserving of the main role in LSU’s backfield, coach Les Miles isn’t convinced Hill is back to being the runner he was a season ago.
“[Hill] can run, that’s not the issue.” Miles said. “He hasn’t carried the ball, even in practice, significantly. We’re really getting him back to sharpening his skills to where they were last year.”
The Tigers’ game plan Saturday against the Golden Flashes was to get the running game going. With four work horse backs in Hill, Magee, junior Kenny Hilliard and senior Alfred Blue, the carries were spread around.
Saturday was the first time two LSU players — Hill and Magee — rushed for more than 100 yards since last season’s opener against North Texas when Hilliard and Blue ran for 141 and 123 yards, respectively.
While producing 571 yards of total offense and six touchdowns, senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger said having four talented backs benefits the entire offense.
“We have a stable of running backs at LSU,” Mettenberger said. “We always have a great running game. The offensive line made a lot of holes out there for those guys and gave me good protection.”
The biggest dilemma for LSU coaches going forward is figuring out how to spread the wealth among the four running backs. Each one has at least 20 carries and at least 50 yards in a single game this season.
While there’s competition among the running backs to get on the field, each player is ultimately fighting for the overall betterment of the team.
“You can’t take nothing away from nobody,” Magee said. “If you go out there and you take advantage of the opportunity you was given, you can’t be mad at that. We’re looking for everybody to succeed; whether it was Jeremy, Kenny or Blue, we want everybody to go out there and do a great job.”
Watching from the sidelines can be frustrating for players who want to get in and make a
difference, but also provides the chance to learn and prepare. Magee said he stays in the game mentally while on the sidelines because his number could be called at anytime.
Magee didn’t see the field in the first half of Saturday’s game, but in the third quarter he hit the ground running. His first touch went for 24 yards and he averaged 12 yards per carry, keeping the Franklinton native’s mindset to take hold of every touch he gets.
“Any given day, whoever you put in there could have a breakout game,” Magee said. “So, you know, when you get your opportunity, you got to seize the moment.”