Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Washington remains Mizzou’s running man

COLUMBIA | Derrick Washington remembers sitting on the bench, praying for a carry or two in a game. Oneseason passed as Tony Temple was Missouri’s star running back.

Then, fans screamed for Washington to replace Temple as the starting running back. Midway through this season, fans are calling for someone to replace Washington.

“When you’re a freshman, you love to hear that stuff,” Washington said. “People wanting you to play.

“The other side of it is kind of tough. People wanting to send you to the bench.”

Washington, who ran for 1,078 yards last year after the departure of Temple and his two straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, tried not to listen. Tried not to hear.

But as dissatisfaction with Missouri’s early running efforts gained volume, Washington heard it all.

So did his dad, Donald. And his mom, Sarah.

“My mom, I don’t know why she let it bother her,” Washington said Monday. “She was the one who always told me not to pay any attention to that kind of stuff. But it got to her.”

It got to Sarah’s baby boy, too.

“A little bit,” he said. “But it was kind of motivational. People telling me I wasn’t doing this. I wasn’t doing that. I know what I’m capable of doing.”

Finally, Washington had a game last Saturday at Colorado that showed critics he had not lost a step, that he was not too slow, that he was still Mizzou’s running man.

In 22 rushes into, around and through what had been a stout Colorado run defense, Washington, a 6-foot, 225-pound junior, netted 99 yards, scored on a 1-yard blast, even took a couple of direct snaps in a new “Jumbo” formation with offensive tackle Elvis Fisher in the backfield with Washington.

It was Washington’s second-best game of the season, just 21 yards short of the 120 he ran for against Bowling Green in the Tigers’ second game.

Fellow tailback De’Vion Moore contributed as well, with 58 yards on eight carries.

True freshman Kendial Lawrence, the kid some wanted to replace Washington earlier in the year, finished with just four on seven rushes.

With quarterback Blaine Gabbert netting 26 yards in six carries, Missouri finished with 184 yards rushing on a season-high 45 carries, the most since a season-high 191 yards against Furman.

That meant something, considering a Colorado team that does very little very well had been tough to run on. Witness Kansas’ negative eight yards on 22 tries against the Buffaloes.

Washington now ranks sixth in the Big 12 in rushing, with 68.8 yards a game and 4.2 yards a carry.

Not as good as Washington expects from himself. And not as much as Missouri’s coaches — even while welcoming the increased production against Colorado — expect from Washington and MU’s other running backs either.

Running backs coach Brian Jones issued a challenge prior to the Colorado game.

“You’ve got to be difference-makers,” Jones said.

MU coach Gary Pinkel said of Washington: “He took it personal.

“He did some great things. I wish I could have gotten him that extra yard.”

Not until after the game, Pinkel said, did he realize Washington was short of the century mark.

“You want 100 yards,” Washington said. “Ninety-nine. It’s three feet short. But it’s a big difference to have a three-digit game or just two digits.”

That, however, is as close as anyone has heard Washington come to complaining. Ever.

“That’s just not his style,” said center Tim Barnes, who contends Washington has the same approach as the offensive linemen who open holes for him. “He’ll just go out there and try to do it on the field.”

One example of that came early in the fourth quarter on first down from the Missouri 9.

“He got four or five yards, just by himself,” Barnes said of an 11-yard gain on which Washington just kept churning.

“That’s the power he’s got in his legs,” Barnes said.

Gabbert’s sprained right ankle was one of the prime beneficiaries of Missouri’s running game last Saturday.

He said Washington was hit with more than his share of criticism when the Tigers failed to net 100 yards rushing as a team in four straight games prior to the victory at Colorado.

“It happened to be Derrick that got pointed out,” Gabbert said. “That’s not right. It’s a team sport.”

Moore, who against Colorado was often paired in the backfield with Washington as Missouri used a lot of two-back sets, said Washington’s reaction to criticism was telling.

“It says a lot about his character,” Moore said. “He took criticism at adverse times and he worked from it. He capitalized on it. He went out to practice every day and he worked hard.

“All the criticism, all the adversity, upsets, games not turning out how you wanted them to, he bounced back from it extremely well.”

Washington merely shrugged.

“There are a lot of things I want to say, but I can’t,” he admitted.

Ultimately, he shared some words he said to Sarah Washington.

“I told her, ‘Mom, I’m a big boy now. Leave it alone.’ ”

To reach Mike DeArmond, call 816-234-4353 or send e-mail to mdearmond@kcstar.com

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