Rutgers quartet strengthens in absence of star running back's injury

As soon as Paul James took the hit, the Rutgers football team held its breath.

After suffering a crushing blow to his leg on Sept. 20 at Navy, the Scarlet Knights’ top weapon in their offensive arsenal was done for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

Fans hung their heads as they had lost James and his seven total touchdowns just four games into the season, but what unfolded afterward sent shockwaves outside the Rutgers community.

When James went down, his teammates behind him in the unit shouldered the load together.

First, Desmon Peoples and Justin Goodwin stepped in to fill the void.

The pair of then-sophomores split the work, as Peoples went on to net a team-high 447 yards and three touchdowns on 115 carries. Goodwin, who split time backing up James as a true freshman in 2013, capped the season with 83 carries for 328 yards and a score.

But it doesn’t end there — it only gets better.

Once a unit filled with question marks and unknowns, the stable of running backs for the Knights has grown into arguably the strongest area the team has to offer.

While having four running backs in the backfield — excluding James, who is out for the spring — does bring into question how the carries will be distributed, sophomore running back Robert Martin says the unit has used it as fuel to the fire for playing time.

“We’ve definitely been handling (the distribution of carries) good,” Martin said. “Like I said, we’re just pushing each other trying to get better, you know. It’s a competition, so we want to go out there and try to compete.”

As someone who was thrown into the defensive backfield midway through last year as a redshirt-freshman, Martin’s end to last year likely ensured that he won’t be changing positions again anytime soon.

Along with Hicks to form a classic thunder-and-lightning punch in the backfield, Martin morphed into a touchdown machine with seven scores on the ground and 434 yards on 87 carries.

Hicks brought the electricity and flash, rushing for two touchdowns and 440 yards on 69 carries to average a team-high 6.4 yards per carry.

At the opening of spring camp, head coach Kyle Flood listed Hicks and Martin as the co-starters with Goodwin and Peoples following on the depth chart.

But as he mentioned his high praise for Goodwin after one practice, Flood alluded to how the amount of reps is ultimately determined.

 “We’ve got a very talented room and I would tell you that Justin’s having a very good spring training camp right now, so I’m excited about what he’s been able to do and I believe he’s gonna be a big part of what we do going forward,” Flood said. “He’s (going to) have a role on this team and just like every other skill player on offense, that role gets determined by production.”

The latest production was evident in last Saturday’s scrimmage at High Point Solutions Stadium.

Over the course of the afternoon, Hicks ripped off a 53-yard scamper to lead the staple of backs with an unofficial 71 yards on 12 carries. Goodwin rushed an unofficial seven times for 21 yards.

Martin, meanwhile, took an unofficial eight touches 29 yards and had the lone touchdown on the day.

“My only focus is I just wanna get better,” Peoples during the first week of spring practice. “I know I can improve on a lot of things and there’s always room for improvement, so that’s just my mindset. I just wanna become a better player.”

For Martin, being almost two years removed from a torn ACL suffered in high school has allowed the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native to focus on improving his all-around game.

Entering Friday night’s Scarlet-White game, Martin mentioned he has put on 10 pounds of muscle to surpass the 200-pound mark.

With his additional bulk and self-proclaimed increase in speed, along with his new-and-improved ability to run routes out the backfield, Martin feels brand new — adding to the diversity of running styles in Rutgers’ backfield melting pot.

“I think we all have a little bit of similarities in the backfield, but I just go out there hungry and ready to compete,” Martin said. “And when I’m out there, I feel like I can make plays at any given moment.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.