Djouvensky Schlenbaker, 2022 3* RB, Bellingham (Squalicum), WA (Offered)

Once upon a time running backs got moved to other positions

Especially if they fumble

https://si.com/college/washington/legends/husky-tb-by-committee-is-nothing-new-as-sterling-hinds-knows

For the 1982 Rose Bowl, Sterling Hinds remembers how he was supposed to be the University of Washington starting tailback on that New Year's Day, but a foot injury relegated him to a limited role.

Who knows, had Hinds been healthier against Iowa, he might have made teammate Jacque Robinson wait another day to introduce himself to the college football world in a big way.

Instead, a third Husky tailback, fellow speedster Ron "Cookie" Jackson, drew the opening assignment in Pasadena and picked up 24 yards on 8 carries.

Subbing in infrequently, Hinds received just 3 carries and rushed for 13 yards against the Hawkeyes.

As for the little-known Robinson, he was asked to pick up the slack and stunned everyone by coming off the bench to rush 20 times for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 28-0 victory. He was an easy choice for Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player accolades.

Fate hit the hole hard and took off in a far different direction than anticipated on that glorious afternoon.

Someone in the postgame news conference asked Husky coach Don James, "Who is Jacque Robinson?"

To which James, tongue in check, responded, "I don't know. I just introduced myself to him. I do know he's a freshman. I checked the program."

Hinds, as a trackman, typically skipped spring football to run the sprints and had to work his way up from the bottom of the depth chart each fall. On game day, the Huskies still made sure to have a fresh tailback on the field.

"If you got 10 carries, that was really good," Hinds said. "I knew one thing for sure, coach James was going to play the best player regardless. That's what I took to practice."

Forty years later, the Huskies find themselves in a similar situation. With a tailback by committee. The UW has an overabundance of ball-carrier bodies in junior Richard Newton and sophomore Cameron Davis, seniors Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant, and untested redshirt freshmen Sam Adams II and Jay'Veon Sunday.

The challenge is to give everyone a chance to show what he can do and hope you don't keep the hot guy seated on the bench.

Four decades ago, Hinds rushed for 188 yards against Stanford, 113 against USC and 103 against Oregon in his Husky career. Jackson went for 147 and 119 against California during his time. Robinson altogether rang up 10 100-yard rushing performances in his four seasons, topped by 203 yards against Texas Tech and accentuated by that 142 against Iowa in the Rose Bowl and 135 against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.