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Future looks bright at running back position
Stellar talents Chris
Mangus, Shawn Furlow primed for 2015
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By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
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Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
The pass-centric “Air Raid'' offense
that Ruffin McNeill and Lincoln Riley brought to East Carolina from
Texas Tech back in January 2010 has from the very start attracted
talented recruits at the quarterback and wide receiver positions.
But the Air Raid is also starting to
become an appealing option for running back prospects, especially with
the success enjoyed by Vintavious Cooper the last two seasons. Cooper
churned out back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing performances in 2012 and
2013, and capped his ECU career by racking up 198 yards in
the 37-20 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl victory against Ohio
University.
The signings of Chris Hairston,
Marquez Grayson and Anthony Scott in recent recruiting classes is proof
that the Air Raid' is a drawing card for running backs. Hairston,
Grayson and Scott were all highly regarded prospects in their home
states before choosing to play for the Pirates.
Further evidence became public in the
final days of September when East Carolina landed verbal commitments
from not one, but two running backs who were ranked among the top
prospects in North Carolina. Those rankings, however, occurred in
different years.
CHRIS MANGUS
Chris Mangus, who prepped at
Raleigh's Broughton High School before signing with Virginia Tech in
February 2012, decided to leave the Hokies in August after two years in
Blacksburg. Mangus chose ECU as his transfer destination and was
admitted to school for the fall semester, although it wasn't until
September 23 when McNeill confirmed his arrival.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Mangus was
rated the third-best running back prospect and No. 21 overall in the
state by Rivals.com as a senior at Broughton. The only backs rated
higher in that in-state Class of 2012 were Georgia signees Todd Gurley
(Tarboro) and Keith Marshall (Raleigh), as well as Jela Duncan
(Charlotte), who plays for Duke.
Two days after Mangus's transfer
became public, the Pirates scored another in-state running back coup
with a pledge from Shawn Furlow, who stars at South Central High in
Winterville just outside of Greenville. Rivals.com rates Furlow the No.
32 overall prospect for North Carolina's Class of 2015, and as the
sixth-best running back.
Furlow's in-state running back
ranking is a bit deceiving because of the incredible depth at that
position this year. Princeton's Johnny Frasier (Florida State),
Greensboro's Reggie Gallaspy (N.C. State) and Concord's Rocky Reid
(Tennessee) are included in the Rivals.com rankings of the nation's Top
60 running back prospects, while Wake Forest's Bryce Love and Nyheim
Hines of Garner are top-10 picks among all-purpose backs.
So, both Mangus and Furlow have been
rated among some pretty talented company.
East Carolina was actually the first
major school to offer a scholarship to Mangus during his junior season
at Broughton. He had already burst onto the Raleigh prep scene as a
sophomore when he ran for 1,184 yards before racking up another 1,312
yards and 13 scores as a junior to earn Cap 8 4-A Conference Offensive
Player of the Year honors.
Chris Martin was Mangus's head coach
back then at Broughton. Martin is now an assistant at Raleigh's Athens
Drive High.
“They (ECU) recruited him hard out of
high school,'' Martin said. “What happened though was, all of a sudden –
Notre Dame, Virginia, Clemson, Virginia Tech – all those guys started
looking, too, then offered. I kind of think East Carolina fell off the
back burner, even though it was a good fit for him.''
The opportunity to play for a
legendary coach in Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech prompted Mangus to
commit to the Hokies in September of a senior season in which he piled
up career-bests with 1,658 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns.
Virginia Tech used a red-shirt on
Mangus in 2012 before he made his college debut last season, appearing
in 12 games and starting once. One of his five receptions during the
season actually came on a 7-yard reception against ECU.
Mangus, who also spent time playing
wide receiver, finished the season with 26 rushes for 141 yards – 76 of
which came on a touchdown dash against Western Carolina – and five
catches for 84 yards. But when Virginia Tech began spring practice last
March, the Hokies had no less than seven backs vying for playing time.
The situation prompted Mangus's decision to seek a new home for his
talents.
“Scrappy-Doo,'' as Mangus was known
to his Broughton teammates because of a voice that sounds like the
cartoon character of the same name, immediately contacted the ECU
coaching staff once he decided to leave Virginia Tech.
“I think it was a natural place,''
Martin said. “On the one side, he was concerned about having to sit out
a year. Sometimes you think, 'Heck, I wish I had done like the
quarterback from (Durham) Hillside (Vad Lee), who transferred from
Georgia Tech to (FCS) James Madison. His first thought was to do
something like that and be able to play right away.
“But realizing he still had two years
of eligibility, I think he realized after sitting out a year at East
Carolina he would be able to come back and kind of showcase his talents
next year.''
Mangus's agility and versatility
could earn him a dual role at running back and receiver for the Pirates.
But we won't find out exactly what ECU's plans are for him until spring
practice begins next March when Mangus is expected to take the field
with the Pirates for the first time.
Either way, Martin believes ECU has
gotten a special player in Mangus.
“I think they've got a steal,'' he
said. “He had a good time at Virginia Tech. Some unfortunate things
happened to him when he first got there – a shoulder problem – and he
just fell out of their rotation.
“I think his decision to go to East
Carolina will help him and them out in the long run. They've got a
player with two years of eligibility left, who understands the college
game and what he's got to do to compete. He's a dual threat, catching
the ball out of the backfield or running with it. He's a good blocker
and a person who should help them out tremendously the next few years.''
SHAWN FURLOW
The Pirates were also the first
school to extend a scholarship offer to Furlow, doing so in July 2013
between his sophomore and junior years.
By then, Furlow had already been a
varsity regular at South Central for two seasons. He'd started the first
three games of his freshman season due to another player's injury, then
took over the full-time duties as a sophomore when he gained 1,154 yards
rushing on 113 carries. Highlighting those statistics was a 12-carry,
three-touchdown, 206-yard performance against West Carteret.
Furlow followed up by carrying 181
times for 1,610 yards and 23 scores as a junior.
Other major programs like Clemson,
Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse made plays for Furlow, but ECU
separated itself from the pack because of a relationship he'd developed
with the coaching staff over the course of his high school career.
“I've been to every one of their home
games since I was a freshman,'' Furlow said. “I built a bond with their
coaches over that time. They did a lot of talking with me, and coming to
see me and that stood out to me.''
Furlow's path to football stardom has
been a winding one.
He was born in North Carolina, but
when his parents separated when Furlow was just three he moved to New
York to live with his father. He eventually returned to North Carolina
at age six to live with his mother briefly in Williamston.
The family moved to Greenville, then
to Richmond, VA, until finally returning to the Pitt County area when
Furlow was a sixth grader. A year later, he decided to start playing
football.
“I love to run,'' Furlow said when
asked how he got started in the sport. “That was the thing that got me
out (for football). I was good at it immediately. The only thing that
held me back as a seventh grader was memorizing the plays. By the eighth
grade, I had it all down.''
Furlow's first season on the South
Central varsity was spent operating out of a Delaware Wing-T formation.
But the arrival of Tim Carter as head coach in his sophomore year
prompted a change to the spread attack.
Through the first six games of the
2014 season, Furlow has produced 826 yards rushing. His totals include a
300-yard rushing performance against Hertford County.
“As a running back, I just read and
react,'' Furlow said. “That's how I'd describe myself. I go with what
the coaches tell me to do, then read and react.''
With Breon Allen scheduled to
complete his eligibility at the end of the 2014 season, and Chris
Hairston and Cory Hunter departing after 2015, Furlow and Mangus could
be competing for playing time as early as next season. Of course,
they'll be joined in that battle by Marquez Grayson and Anthony Scott in
what should be a well-stocked running back position for several seasons
to come for ECU.
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10/14/2014 05:19 AM |
