Georgia State’s Marcus Caffey will play exclusively at running back for the rest of the season, ending the less-than-a-week-old experiment of him also playing cornerback.
Caffey, 6-foot, 195 pounds, started at cornerback in the season’s first four games, but moved to running back last week after season-ending injuries to Kyler Neal and Jonathan Jean-Bart, and Krysten Hammon’s decision to leave the program. The Panthers, who have averaged 125.2 rushing yards per game, will play at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, and Coffey may start at running back.
“I’m pretty excited, just really focused on helping the team and doing what I can,” Caffey said. “I’ve been playing running back my whole life. It’s natural for me.”
Caffey was an all-state running back at Grady High. He signed with Kentucky, but when he was No. 3 on the depth chart at running back, he asked to move to cornerback to try to earn playing time.
Caffey and position coach Brock Lough said he brings a blend of speed and power to a group of running backs that mostly features power runners in Duvall Smith, Gerald Howse and Dontavis Crocker.
Lough said Caffey’s heighth and strength make him a good pass-blocker and the rest of the fundamentals are coming back quickly. Because Caffey is tall he presents a bigger target for tacklers. Lough has been working with Caffey to stay low and lean forward when he runs to minimize the area that can be hit.
“He’s getting a lot better at it,” Lough said.
Caffey said he has been staying up late to learn the plays. Position coach Brock Lough said Caffey has already learned about 75 percent of the plays.
“He’s a fast learner,” Lough said.
Allen playing time: Caffey's move to running back may open more playing time for freshman Antreal Allen and Chandon Sullivan at cornerback.
“I’m excited, working hard in practice, listening to coach and trying to get better in practice,” Allen said.
Allen (5-11, 180) played in the season-opening win against Abilene Christian. However, he strained a hamstring in the game that has sidelined him from playing since.
Georgia State has allowed 255.5 passing yards per game, and the Cajuns have averaged 201 passing yards per game.
Numbers to chew on: Georgia State inside linebacker Joseph Peterson has averaged 13.3 tackles per game, second in the Sun Belt to Texas State's David Mayo, and sixth in FBS. Redshirt freshman inside linebacker Trey Payne has averaged 9.3 tackles per game, tied for 46th among FBS players.
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