TERRE HAUTE, Ind. –
Sam Sewell was the final piece to head coach
Curt Mallory's staff, and he may have just lucked into the deepest position group Indiana State has to offer in 2017.
Despite losing powerful running back
Roland Genesy, Sewell inherits a running backs group that includes returnees
Dimitri Taylor and
Jaquan Keys, as well as two key returnees who were injured last season in
Marlon Fleming II and explosive fifth-year senior
LeMonte Booker. Combined, that group has 2,201 career rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
"I'm really excited about these guys because they're hungry," Sewell said. "The whole room is kind of excited to show what they have. They're a competitive group and they're perfectionists. I really think that there are a large number of guys in there that want to be special."
Special is also how Sewell would describe his chance to reunite with offensive coordinator
Jeff Hecklinski and work under Coach Mallory. Sewell and Hecklinski worked alongside each other at Colorado State-Pueblo in 2015-16 before they both made the trek to Terre Haute.
"The opportunity to work with him again and work with Coach Mallory was something that I just couldn't pass up," Sewell said.
Sewell knows he has a potentially powerful position group, but his expectations for them don't include a lot of fanfare.
"I want those guys to be Clark Kent and not Superman," Sewell said. "I don't need them to come in and be superheroes, I need them to be the guy that just shows up to work every day, does their job day-in and day-out and trusts that that's enough."
The Sycamores are surely happy to be back at full strength in the backfield, but the key returnee is Booker, who missed all of 2016 with a knee injury. Booker proved himself as an explosive and versatile weapon for the Sycamore offense, currently sitting at 2,321 career all-purpose yards – which also includes 1,079 kick returns yards.
"What helps him out the most is that he's a really smart football player" Sewell said. "He's really intelligent, and he understands that and he picks things up really fast. What we're working on with LeMonte is just being more of a leader and helping build his teammates up and help those other guys come along, because he picks things up so fast. It's like he's two steps ahead, and what we're trying to get is for him to bring those other guys along with him."
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The Sycamores practiced early this morning at Terre Haute South due to some maintenance work at Memorial Stadium. Catch up with how Coach Mallory thought it went below.
Just one week remains in spring practice, culminating in the Spring Game on Fri., April 21, at 4 p.m.
Day 13 (April 18): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 14 (April 20): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 15 (April 21, Spring Game): 4:00 p.m.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
