Ask Marshall football running back Remi Watson the two best pieces
of advice first-year running backs coach Chris Barclay gave him and his answer
may shock you, a compass and a toilet.
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| Remi Watson |
No Barclay was not playing a practical joke but rather
providing Watson with valuable tools to help the redshirt junior perform to his
expected potential.
How is Watson supposed to use these two items to make
himself a better runner? It all started after a straight forward talk from his
coach.
“The best thing I’ve told him (Watson),” Barclay said. “It’s
a revolutionary statement. I said I don’t know if you know this Remi but the
end zones are north and south. The quicker you can get north or south, the faster
you can get in the end zone. I would hate for you to run 20 yards east and west
to gain three yards or five yards.”
Barclay may know a thing or two about scoring after
finishing a stellar career at Wake Forest where he was named the 2005 ACC Player
of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year. Barclay also set seven school
records including rushing yards (4,032), scoring (240 points), rushing
touchdowns (40), total touchdowns (40), all-purpose yards (4,930), 200-yard
rushing games (3) and 1,000 yard rushing seasons (3).
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| Running Backs Coach Chris Barclay |
So what does Watson attribute his sudden surge thus far in
camp? Listening to his coach’s advice and putting it to use in practice.
“I told myself once again like I do every day when I come
out to practice, north and south, north and south, north and south, as quick as
possible,” Watson said.
Entering his third season with the Herd, Watson said past
experience meant nothing and Coach Barclay was very clear on what was expected
from the junior.
“He (Barclay) gave it to me how it is with no beating around
the bush,” Watson said. “No just thinking you have arrived because I played as
a freshman. I got to work every day when I come out here.”
Watson understands there is work to be done, especially if
he plans on rebounding from a sub-par 2013 season. Watson’s rookie season in
2012 saw the kid from Lakeland, Florida rack up 380 yards on 79 carries and
seven touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. His best performance in
2012 came in a 54-51 win over Rice when he finished with 14 carries for 84
yards and two touchdowns.
However, Watson’s rookie production did not continue in
2013. Watson struggled finding his place in the depth chart behind Essray Taliaferro,
Steward Butler and Kevin Grooms largely in part to his running style
consistently running him sideline to sideline with little to no gain, therefore
stalling the Herd’s high-octane offense.
Watson played in only nine games in 2013, none of which he
started, after playing in 11-of-12 in 2012 and starting four. Watson’s 2013
stats plummeted to 120 yards on 30 carries with no touchdowns and his best game
of the season did not come until Marshall’s Military Bowl victory over Maryland
when he gained 42 yards on six carries including a 19-yard run.
So what does Watson have to do this season to find increased
opportunities in an extremely crowded backfield? For starters, he must heed to
his coach’s advice.
“Coach Barclay laid it on the line,” explained Watson. “If you
want to play, you’ve got to add this to your game. If you don’t, it’s not that
you aren’t talented enough to do it, but if you chose not to add that to your
game, we will find someone else who will.”
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| Watson works during a drill in camp |
Watson seemed to take Barclay’s advice after having a decent
performance in Saturday night’s scrimmage. Watson tallied 11 carries for 51
yards (4.6 yards per carry) and a touchdown including a five-play 25-yard drive
that Watson carried the ball five times.
Watson started slow in the scrimmage with runs of 1-yard and
no gain. However, Watson stayed the course stringing off runs of three and nine
yards in back-to-back carries. More importantly, Watson never seemed to lose
his composure on the field.
That must be music to Barclay’s ears.
But while Watson’s numbers appear to be returning to those
of his rookie year, Barclay demands him to play the next play and forget what
happen on the last, or simply flush the toilet.
“Coach Barclay always tells us when something doesn’t go
your way you have to flush the toilet,” Watson chuckled. “If you have a bad
run, he wants us to do the same thing. You’ve got to take what you are given. I
can’t get mad and frustrated I just have to stay with the program and my runs
will come.”
Watson said he starts fresh every day, no matter the
previous outcome.
“Even if you have a good practice when you come out the next
day he’s going to ask you about it,” said Watson. “He will ask me how did I
practice yesterday. I just tell him, I don’t know coach I flushed the toilet.”
Leading up to and during the scrimmage, Watson’s running
lanes were much different than that off old. He worked largely between the
tackles and often waited for a lane to develop before attacking at just the
right time. As represented by last season’s team production, a solid running attack
makes Rakeem Cato’s high-powered air attack even more effective.
Perhaps this truly is a new version of Remi Watson that has
heeded Coach Barclay’s advice and turned over a new leaf in his style of
running. But take caution should Watson revert to his old running ways as the
outcome could get messy in a hurry.
Hopefully for Herd fans Watson has flushed the toilet of his
old ways for good and there are no clogs along the way in the system.
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