Move designed to give Pitt backfield more punch

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pitt rushed 39 times for 44 yards in its 34-14 victory Saturday against Syracuse, which, on the surface, is horrible.

But Pitt Coach Walt Harris said the rushing statistics were misleading because there were a few negative plays that hurt the yardage total.

He was encouraged because reserve tailback Tim Murphy, who rushed nine times for 21 yards, provided the Panthers with a physical presence they haven't had since starter Brandon Miree went down with a calf injury.

	Tim Murphy finds a hole in the Syracuse defense Saturday at Heinz Field. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette) Click photo for larger image.

Before the Syracuse game, fleet-footed sophomore Jawan Walker was the primary tailback, but there weren't many openings for him to get into the open field.

Murphy is a north-south runner and is more equipped to get tough yards between the tackles, even when the blocking breaks down. That was important against the Orangemen because it enabled the Panthers to have some flexibility in their play calling, particularly on third-and-short.

Murphy's play was impressive enough that he is listed as a co-starter at tailback with Walker, and Harris said he will see increased playing time Saturday when the Panthers (5-2, 2-0 Big East) play at Boston College (5-3, 1-2).

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The Eagles have one of the best defensive lines in the conference and are especially tough against the run. In the its 27-25 victory Saturday against Notre Dame, Boston College limited the Irish to 47 yards rushing.

Harris is hoping Murphy and Walker provide a solid one-two punch against the Eagles' solid defense.

"Tim gives us a change a pace. He's a different kind of runner than Jawan Walker. He looks like he plays faster," Harris said.

It is not surprising that Murphy is a hard-nosed, physical runner because he is also the backup fullback and has played fullback since the beginning of last season. Although he was originally recruited as a tailback, he said that the move to fullback was the best thing that happened for his career.

He said his and Walker contrasting styles fit the Panthers' needs depending on the situation.

"When I came here, I wasn't very physical or very big," said Murphy, who is a 5-foot-10, 235-pound redshirt sophomore. "So that is one of the reasons I was so open to moving to fullback last season because I knew I wasn't nearly as physical as I needed to be in order to play at this level and it really helped me because that I've carried that [physical play] over to tailback.

"Jawan is a good running back but I have different things than he has to offer, and Saturday my style of running benefited the team more. The offensive line stepped it up but not enough for Jawan to get loose. He needs to get loose to be effective, but I can run between the tackles."

Although Murphy is a tough, compact runner, that doesn't mean he isn't capable of breaking a big play. While he is not quite as fast as Walker, he is certainly fast enough to pull away from defenders. Last year in the Panthers' 28-21 win against Virginia Tech, he took his first career attempt 52 yards to the Hokies' 10 and set up the tying touchdown.

Pitt running backs coach Dino Babers said Murphy's talent is evident in the fact he has successfully made the switch from tailback to fullback and back to tailback. He expects Murphy to play a big role for the Panthers' running game the rest of the season, even after Miree returns.

"Once you line up at fullback and do all the hard work, you seem to appreciate it a little more when you get back there to tail," Babers said. "I always thought of it as sort of a nice graduation present to go from fullback to tailback, but most kids can't make the switch, so he clearly has some skills."

NOTE -- Sophomore receiver Larry Fitzgerald is one of 15 finalists for the Maxwell Award for the nation's most outstanding player.

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