Within the running backs room there is one elder. His teammates call him ‘Uncle’ or ‘Grandpa,’ as he’s the only upperclassman among Syracuse’s tailbacks.

And as the starter for the Orange, it’s a role Antwon Bailey must embrace — though he chuckles and smiles when his nicknames are brought up.

‘We have a lot of young guys in the room,’ Bailey said. ‘Aside from myself, they’re all pretty much freshmen and sophomores. I think that’s the best way to have the room, so we all love each other, and we all help each other out. But at the end of the day, it’s competition for who is going to be out on the field.’

With the Orange (4-2, 0-1 Big East) preparing to kick off the second half of its season Friday against West Virginia (5-1, 1-0), Bailey and the running backs appear to be hitting their stride. The senior has eclipsed 100 yards in each of the past three games, and despite the loss of backup Prince-Tyson Gulley to injury, the ground game hasn’t missed a beat. A trio of backups — Jerome Smith, Steven Rene, Adonis Ameen-Moore — brings a distinct running style that Syracuse hopes will keep the Mountaineers and future opponents off balance.

SU’s most recent game against Tulane saw the highly touted Ameen-Moore make his collegiate debut. The 5-foot-10, 244-pound freshman already earned the nickname ‘Little Bus’ in reference to former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis as a result of his big frame and bruising running style.

Though he carried the ball only four times for 14 yards against the Green Wave, he’s eager to return to the field this weekend against West Virginia.

‘As a running back, you have to be competitive,’ Ameen-Moore said. ‘You always want the ball in your hands, that’s the competitive spirit right there. Whenever we touch the ball, we all want to play. We all want to be that guy.’

It appeared that Ameen-Moore would move up to the third running back spot following Gulley’s injury, but Smith — the No. 2 back on the depth chart — didn’t receive a singly carry at Tulane.

Still, Bailey said it was Smith that made the biggest stride during this bye week by ‘taking his game to another level.’

And come Friday against West Virginia, it’s important that Syracuse can get the running game rolling with production from more than just Bailey. SU’s best rushing game of the season came against Toledo, when Bailey and Gulley combined for 180 yards.

Left tackle Justin Pugh said he hopes offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will dial up a heavy dose of the run again on Friday. SU will expose the Mountaineers to many different styles of running.

‘All those guys kind of bring something different to the table,’ Pugh said. ‘Jerome is the power, Adonis is a big guy, as you obviously can tell, and Steve goes 100 miles per hour no matter what it is. That’s what I love about Steve. And Antwon is probably the most versatile back probably in the Big East.

‘I think all those guys bring something different to the table, and that’s going to keep West Virginia on their toes.’

The development of the younger running backs is, in part, a product of Bailey’s ability to be a role model and instructor. Ameen-Moore said he learns something new from SU’s starter every day. Bailey began teaching him the playbook during the summer, well before the players are allowed to begin working with coaches.

It’s this close-knit relationship that prompted Ameen-Moore to call the running backs the ‘closest unit’ on the football team. That can only help the Orange as the weather gets colder, making the run game that much more crucial.

And as Syracuse prepares for its stiffest challenge of the season in No. 11 West Virginia, Bailey feels the offense is more developed than it was a year ago. His expectations of the offense will only continue to grow as the young tailbacks continue to develop in the next two months.

‘I think opposed to last year, at this time of the season we’re a much better offense than we were,’ Bailey said. ‘We have more versatility with us. We have a lot of things we can do. I think the mindset is just go out there and play our game.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on October 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13