By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The redshirt freshman John Moten IV is blessed enough to possess a talent that cannot be taught. "You can't teach ten-five-eight," says Justin Jackson, referring to Moten's time (10.58 seconds) when he won the 100 meter state championship as a high school senior in Missouri.
But still?
"He's learning how to be a Big Ten running back," says Pat Fitzgerald.
Which means?
"Everything without the ball in his hands. Everything that goes along with that. Special teams. Practice. The grind. Every running back that I've been around who's been any good, typically, day one, is really good with the ball in their hands. They have to learn B to Z of the position. That A part, carrying the ball, is the easiest part. They're instinctual. They're tough. They're physical. They've got balance. They've got vision. All those things, those reasons you recruit them. Justin had to do the same thing. A couple years ago he was spectacular with the ball in his hands, but everything else that goes along with the position he needed to improve. I would say that the work that Justin has put in, the things that (running backs coach) Matt MacPherson has made him have to improve on in practice, we've seen that in games with JJ. I think that's a work in progress with John. But John's working on it."
"It's running the right route. It's targeting the right guys in protection. It's executing when he does target the right guy, physically being able to execute it," MacPherson himself picks up, explicating even more of those responsibilities a running back must attend when the ball is not in his hands. Then there are the mental demands as well.
"When to run the right hot route. The mental part of targeting, knowing who he's supposed to go to in pass protection," says MacPherson, continuing his enumeration. "The hardest transition from being a high school running back is the protection. You don't have to protect in high school and, if you do, half the time you're as big or bigger than the guys you're protecting against. It's a another deal when you get to the college level."
"I think earlier in his career, he got down a little bit because it is a lot different in college ball," Jackson finally says. "But he's persevered through that, he's doing really well now, he's really into it mentally and obviously physically. But really into it mentally, which I think is something he needed to work on. And he did. He got a lot better with it. Just really proud to see him out there playing and playing fast."
In the first nine games of this season, John Moten carried 23 times (2.5/gm.) and netted 92 yards (4.0/gm.). Last Saturday at Purdue, he carried 16 times and netted 119 yards (7.4/carry).
"The O line opened a lot of good seams. That made my job easy," he says of that day, and this is in character. He is as phlegmatic as he is fast.
"A lot of speed," right guard Tommy Doles says more expansively when asked what he sees in the running back. "Also a guy who hits holes and makes the most of everything we can open up for him. It's tremendous. We're thrilled the way played. It's exciting to see the punch we can throw with Justin and John in there, the way they complement each other. Again, it makes our job so much easier. It makes us look better when someone makes the most of everything we can open up for him."
"It always nice when you have a guy who can come in and take carries," concludes Jackson. "It keeps your body healthy. But also he can go in there and you don't have to worry about him. He goes out there to play and I have full confidence in him, and I think the coaches do too. Last game was evidence of that. Very proud of him. He's a great guy. He's fun to be around. We always make fun of each other. I love him." (The latter part of that observation indicates Moten is not always as restrained as his public demeanor suggests. So too does this from defensive tackle Jordan Thompson, who joined the 'Cats the same year as the running back: "Sometimes he's pretty goofy with the rest of us. Sometimes he can be pretty reserved.")
The senior Warren Long was scheduled to serve this season as Jackson's primary relief. He broke a hand in the season opener. The redshirt sophomore Auston Anderson was the next scheduled up, but then he too went down. That hastened the ascension of Moten, and now it was imperative that he dive into a process similar to the one Jackson had gone through his true freshman year. The latter's journey had been accelerated since he was playing. But, says MacPherson, "It is kinda the same idea in that you try to put him in a situation where he can succeed. A lot of times that's getting him the ball. That's where he has the best chance to succeed. And than as he continues to come along, you feel more comfortable putting him in other situations."
When he was in those other situations in practice, those situations when the ball was not in his hands, right there next to him was an accomplished tutor ready to help. "I knew we would need him when Warren went down, when Auston went down. I knew he was going to have to step up," says Jackson. "So I'd just say, 'John, what were you seeing on that play? What were you thinking on that play.' I just wanted him to be seeing his reads and seeing them quickly and reacting. I wanted him to go out there confident in himself so he doesn't have to think. . . . I think now, when he's in games, he's not thinking as much. There's more he can do. But just going out there and playing fast and having the game he had (against Purdue), I think that's really important for his confidence."
"He's getting better. He's gaining trust by the day," picks up MacPherson. "He had a big block against Iowa on one of Austin Carr's touchdowns. He was really good in blitz pickup against Purdue. So he's starting to gain that trust and starting to perform in those situations. . . . When I put him in there, will I leave him in there on third down? Yes. Would I have done that earlier in the year? Probably not. Now Justin still takes the majority of third-down reps. But I don't mind leaving John in there. He's starting to gain that trust."
"A lot of things I've been focusing on deal with pass protection and route running," concludes Moten himself. "Coach Mac talks about, when I don't have the ball in my hands, what am I doing? He's definitely right when he says, if you can do everything right, not just running the ball, that's what makes the big difference."
John Moten's family moved to St. Louis in 2013 and there he enrolled at the John Burroughs School, where he would succeed current Cowboy rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott as running back. (Asked what similarities they shared, he deadpanned, "We both play running back. We both love football.") That is where the 'Cats discovered him, and Pat Fitzgerald visited him.
"It's an unbelievable school academically. I kind of felt I was going to Hogwarts when I walked in there," he remembers. "I mean, it's unbelievable. I was actually there on Harry Potter Day. It was pretty cool. All the students were dressed up like Harry Potter. It was great. And everybody there felt John was a player that had his best football ahead of him, and that not only was he great on the field, but spectacular off the field. John's backed that up."
Is his best football still ahead of him?
"I would say he's starting to come on," Fitzgerald concludes. "Great production on Saturday. A few plays he would probably like to have back because they could have gone for some more yards. But, yeah, no question. I think he's got a great future ahead of him. No question. You think about the opportunity, it's because Warren's out. Warren's in, John probably doesn't get this type of experience. So everything happens for a reason. It's a bad deal for Warren. But it's a great deal for John, and John has taken advantage of that opportunity. Not only has that been helpful to us in the micro, in the here-and-now. But it's also going to help us in the long term."
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