Sports > RB Maroney Kicks Off Heisman Campaign

Minnesota Running Back Laurence Maroney Kicks Off Heisman Campaign With a Bang

Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney breaks a tackle by Tulsa's Bobby Klinck on the way to a 73-yard touchdown run Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/David Crenshaw)

On the Gophers' first play of the game against Tulsa on Thursday night, Maroney burst left, swatted a few overmatched defenders aside and raced 67 yards for a touchdown, punctuating his coming-out party with a somersault into the end zone.

"After that, it brought a lot of energy to me, like, 'Ooh, this is going to be a long game for them,'" Maroney said.

The breathtaking display of speed and power was a precursor to a career-high 203-yard, two-touchdown performance in the 41-10 victory that served notice to reigning Heisman winner Matt Leinart that he might have a little competition after all.

Maroney added another sparkling run later in the first quarter when he took the ball around right end, froze Tulsa safety Bobby Klinck with a stutter step, then weaved his way for 73 yards and another score.

Before the first quarter was over, Maroney had eight carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

"If you're not going to go nine in the box against Laurence Maroney, you deserve to get ran on like that," receiver Ernie Wheelwright said. "It was great."

For those familiar with Maroney, the performance did not come as much of a surprise. As a sophomore last year, he teamed with Marion Barber III now in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys to become the first pair of backs to run for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.

Maroney rushed for 1,348 yards and 12 touchdowns last season while splitting time with Barber, needing only 217 attempts to get there (6.2 yards per rush).

This year, coach Glen Mason says, he's even better.

"I've said all along that he's a bigger, stronger version of last year," Mason said Friday. "I don't know how you script it (any better) when you come out on the first play, a base play, and he takes it the distance.

"Why did he do that? It wasn't just him, it was blocked perfectly. If you give him some room to run, he's going to run."

And with an experienced offensive line in front of him that includes two of the best in the nation in center Greg Eslinger and guard Mark Setterstrom, the affable Maroney should have plenty of room to run this season.

"It was just great blocking from the line and great downfield blocking from the receivers," Maroney said of his first run. "They were like, 'Laurence, we need a big play from you the first play.'

"So, I was like, 'Give me great blocking like y'all always do and I'll take it to the house.' And that's exactly what happened."

By the time the second quarter opened, it looked as if Maroney was well on his way to topping 300 yards. But the Gophers backed off, perhaps losing some concentration after the ease in which they took a big lead, which concerned Mason heading into next weekend's game against Colorado State.

"I think Laurence's performance last night was really kind of indicative of the way our offense went," Mason said. "We hit some big plays, but we didn't have near enough consistency that we wanted.

"Our running game has been built on the idea that if you always run to make 4 yards, every once in a while you'll make 44. If you always look to make a 44-yard gain, you'll only make 4 inches."

And while the Golden Hurricane defense clearly was in over its head against the Gophers, the real tests for Minnesota will start coming in Big Ten play against the likes of Michigan and Iowa, teams that don't take kindly to having the ball jammed down their throats.

The supremely confident Maroney knows he'll have to rely on his teammates to balance the workload when that happens, but with a glimmer in his eye he knows he'll get plenty of chances to make a case for the Heisman as well.

"Eventually, some downs they will play nine in the box and that's when we have to hit them with the long pass," Maroney said. "And when they step back? It's on. The run game is on. The run game is definitely on."

2005-09-03