FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Running back Jerious Norwood showed more than a few flashes of brilliance as a rookie. And he's wasting little time showing some of his new teammates exactly what he can do as he heads into his sophomore season.
“To be honest, he’s one of the fastest guys that I have seen in this league," starting quarterback Joey Harrington said of Norwood, a second-year player who averaged 6.4 yards per carry as a rookie. "He catches the ball extremely well and, if you give him some space or a crease, he’s going to beat them to the sideline. That is the type of speed that you can’t coach.
"He has the ability to make big plays and that’s something that a quarterback loves. I love to get the ball to him and I’m looking forward to see what he can do this season.”
The team has seen more of Norwood in the first two days of Russell Falcons Training Camp due to Warrick Dunn's back injury. Dunn, who led the team with 1,140 yards and four rushing touchdowns last season, is expected to miss three to four weeks. Norwood said he welcomes the opportunity for more touches, but understands the team needs more than one back to be successful running the football.
He also welcomes continued guidance from Dunn -- an 11-year veteran -- and the extra chance to gain conditioning.
"You know, coming out here today I'm going to do the same thing I've been doing which is coming out working hard everyday, having fun and trying to learn," Norwood said. "With (Dunn) being around it still helps. Even though he can't practice he still helps."
Norwood's speed helped him gain 633 yards on just 99 carries last season but the coaching staff is equally impressed by his pass-catching ability.
"Jerious is a guy that you look at, you watch him on video and you say: ‘Wow, this guy has a chance to really make some big plays for us,’" Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "He can accelerate and cut very quickly and he has home run speed. He’s a very good receiver out of the backfield so we’re looking forward to seeing how we utilize him catching the ball out of the backfield. He just needs to continually work on his blitz pickup and protecting the quarterback... When you look at a guy like Warrick, who’s not the biggest man in the world, he’s done an unbelievable job protecting the quarterback throughout his career because of his technique."
Of course, there's no better time to work on technique than training camp, where two-a-day practices and sweat loosen the muscles and coaches are available for almost constant instruction.
"It helps a lot as far as being conditioned and in shape and being able to take all those reps," Norwood said. "I'm from Mississippi so I'm kind of used to this humidity... It's just going to make us stronger down the road and make us better."
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson looks forward to improving the offense over the next two weeks. That includes the running back position, which can benefit from the grind of training camp.
"Jerious has shown the ability to make big plays, create big plays," Jackson said in an interview just before training camp. "He’s one of our play makers that we need to make sure he has an opportunity to touch the ball because he’s very dangerous from anywhere on the field. I’m really excited to watch him in training camp because, for a running back, where you really start to find out about them is when it’s physical, tough and hot. Can those guys keep coming after you play, after play, after play with the violence that it takes running the ball to make those positive yards? He demonstrated that a year ago as a rookie and, hopefully, he will take the next step in his development as a player this season.”
Judging from Harrington's assessment, Norwood appears well on his way to a strong 2007.
"When it comes to game time I'll be ready," he said. "I played a lot last year but this year I believe I'll play a bigger role. I just have to prepare myself to be the best I can be and keep this a team effort."
