From fifth option to first string, Tulane running back Stephon Huderson is enjoying a heck of a ride in his senior year.
Coming off a career-high 132 yards on 19 carries against SMU, he might be the most important player on the field when the Green Wave (2-3, 0-3 American Athletic Conference) faces high-octane Central Florida (2-2, 1-2) in a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Spectrum Stadium.
The number-one priority is to keep the Knights’ record-breaking offense on the sideline as much as possible, and Huderson, who leads the Wave with 309 yards on 44 carries, can do it if he maintains his recent form. It is heady space to be in for a guy who was a footnote to Tyjae Spears, Corey Dauphine, Amare Jones and Cameron Carroll as spring practice ended prematurely in March.
“I just needed a chance,” he said. “Now that the opportunity’s there, I’m taking full advantage of it.”
Huderson, from Petal, Mississippi, had to wait four years for this spotlight. After enrolling early so he could participate in spring ball during 2017, he played sparingly as a freshman, finishing with 70 yards and one touchdown on 19 attempts. His numbers improved to 68 carries for 281 yards (4.1 average) in his sophomore season, but he was a distant third to Darius Bradwell and Corey Dauphine in the pecking order.
Last year, his productivity increased (5.8 average) while his usage declined, with Bradwell, Dauphine, Carroll and Jones all getting more touches than his 61 (51 rushes, three receptions, six kickoff returns, one punt return). Spears would have passed him, too, if he had not been limited to four games so he could be redshirted.
Through it all, Huderson never sulked or gave the coaches any reason to doubt his commitment.
“I tell these guys all the time football doesn’t expose character,” coach Willie Fritz said. “It exposes lack of character, and he never gets that exposed. He’s a good young man, a hard worker and a very good student. You just have to keep fighting through it and plugging away. Some people have that ability and some don’t. Obviously he does.”
Huderson could have transferred, looking for a more sure thing, but he trusted his ability and his work ethic.
“I told myself to keep going,” he said. “I was treating practice like it’s a game, going 100 percent every day.”
His big breaks came due to injury. First, breakaway threat Corey Dauphine (1,385 career yards, 15 touchdowns) tore his Achilles tendon during the summer after the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility. Then, Spears tore an ACL on a touchdown against Southern Miss, ending a spectacular start to the season (279 yards, 7.4 average in a little more than nine quarters).
The Huderson who played in Spears’ absence was a different player than in the past. Two years ago, fans grumbled every time he had a carry, feeling he was a half step slow and taking a down away from the turbo-charged Dauphine.
Not any longer. He raced for a 47-yard touchdown against Southern Miss on his way to a then-career best 117 yards on 11 attempts.
After playing a secondary role to Carroll in Tulane’s 49-31 loss to Houston, he took over against SMU, when he had consecutive carries of 25, 9, 6, 16, 12, 2 and 22 yards spanning the second and third quarters. The first two illustrated his newfound versatility. He began by accelerating through a hole on the left side, leaving multiple defenders grasping air. On his next touch, he absorbed contact at the SMU 10, kept going and drove his tacklers backward all the way to the 3.
At 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, his low center of gravity makes him hard to bring down. His strength helps, too. He squats in the 550- to 570-pound range, power cleans about 330 to 340 pounds and can bench press about 350 pounds.
“Pound for pound, he’s probably pretty close to being our strongest guy,” Fritz said. “If he were six feet, he’s probably weigh 235, 240 pounds. It’s just hard to get a good, clean shot on him.”
Huderson proceeded to cut back to his right on a run to the left, wait patiently for his blocks on another run around right end and make a subtle move to find a hole up the middle. He capped off his highlight reel with a 22-yard touchdown, starting up the middle before cutting sharply to the right to find an open path to the end zone.
“I just play with speed and read the second-level defender, so if they overrun, I cut back,” he said. “It’s all a feel thing. It’s not too much I can explain.”
He had his moments last year—a 100-yard game with a 32-yard touchdown catch against Tulsa; a 98-yard kickoff return for a score against UCF—but those outliers are becoming normal now.
“It’s just me playing with more confidence and knowing what’s going on,” he said. “It comes with time. I just developed a little sense of urgency.”
Teammates are happy for him, from fellow class of 2017 members like defensive end Cameron Sample and cornerback Jaylon Monroe, who have watched his progress from the beginning, to sophomore center Sincere Hayneworth, who has the pleasure of blocking for him.
“He’s just a stud,” Haynesworth said. “He knows where to find the open spaces and once he gets there, he puts his head down and goes. He doesn’t ever complain. He’s always trusting the O-line. No matter what’s going on and how the game’s going, he just puts his head down and runs.”
He performs without even a hint of hutzpah.
“He’s a laid back, cool, calm kid,” running backs coach Jamaal Fobbs said. “He doesn’t have to be out front and he doesn’t have to be the life of the party or everybody look at me. He’s comfortable sitting in a chair and just kicking back. But when it’s time to be competitive, he definitely has that gene in him.”
His competitiveness has tempered his happiness. For all of his nice runs against SMU, Tulane still lost in overtime, remaining winless in the AAC.
He wants to contribute to a turnaround victory, starting with what would be a nearly three-touchdown upset of heavily favored UCF.
“To play so well and lose, it stinks,” he said. “It just shows you that we still have more work to do. It’s nothing if we’re not all on the same page. We have yet to play four full quarters, so that’s our biggest challenge right now.”
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