All Brandon Thornton wants is an opportunity.
As the Mississippi State football team wraps up two-a-days and scrimmages, one of the biggest concerns is whether Thornton can fill the offensive void of Jerious Norwood.
“Jerious was a good guy. When he left here, he left some big shoes to fill,” Thornton said. “I’m just hoping to get this job done and pick up where he left off.”
Norwood rewrote the record books after four productive years, moving into first place in rushing yards for a career (3222), second in rushing attempts all-time (573), third and sixth for rushing yards in a season (1136 in 2005 and 1050 in 2004), and shattered the record for most rushing yards in a game (257) held by James Johnson. The offensive backfield may not have a Norwood-type rusher this season, but collectively, this year’s unit should be pretty impressive, although this year’s backfield unit collectively rushed for only 504 yards.
The starter now is Thornton, who has amassed 225 yards in his short career after redshirting his true freshman season. Coach Sylvester Croom is still looking to see who will be Thornton’s backup. He used the last scrimmage to get a long good look at all the backs.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I wanted to take a look at the running game today,” Croom said. “Some guys didn’t get a good look last week and we wanted to see them extensively today. A couple of guys piqued our interest.”
Freshman halfback Anthony Dixon from Terry High in Jackson was very impressive, gaining 145 yards on 31 carries. Walk-on Justin Williams was almost equally impressive, running for 85 yards on 12 carries. If Dixon is able to keep up the numbers like that, he and Thornton could be a two-headed attack.
Thornton is the smaller of the two at 5 feet 9 inches and 185 pounds; meanwhile Dixon is 6 feet 1 inch and 229. Also returning is senior Derek Ambrose, who is rebounding from off-season surgery to repair the ACL in his knee, which he injured on the opening kickoff against Tulane last year. Ambrose transferred from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 2004. Also part of the halfback unit is Courtney Jones from Pensacola, Fla., Arnil Stallworth from Daphne, Ala, Christian Ducrܬ from Tulane by way of Fontainbleau High in Mandeville, La., and Taurus Young from Winona.
The fullback unit received a big boost in the off-season. Bryson Davis, who played linebacker his first three years at State, is coming to help protect Michael Henig and the small halfbacks. Last year at inside linebacker, Davis led the team and was 10th in the SEC with 78 tackles. An All-American defensive back in high school and a freshman All-SEC in 2003, Davis has made an impact, making plays at cornerback and at linebacker for his career. Behind him in the preseason depth charts is senior Casey Rogers, who came from Cumberland University in Tennessee.
Behind him is sophomore Brandon Hart. He played in all but two games of the 2005 season, rushing for 24 yards on 11 carries and one reception for four yards.