At the beginning of the season, Tyler Roback was atop the depth chart. His competitor is Mikel Casteel.
Since the first Tri-Valley Conference Ohio game against Alexander in mid-September, there is no guarantee that Roback will start.
“You never know as a coach how that competition is going to go, and they have really embraced it and done a nice job,” Nathan White, offensive coordinator, said.
Throughout the past few games, Athens has started to shape itself into a high-paced spread offense. With that offense, the backfield has started to develop into a two-back system. Moving forward, that can help out quarterback Brendan Sano and help diversify the offensive play scheme.
“I think it’s going to be good,” Sano said of a two-back system. “Roback is more of a quicker, more agile, faster kid, and (Casteel) is more of bruising, run-you-over-type of guy, so it’s a good balance.”
On game day, they are both virtually impossible to stop. Since the Alexander game, the duo have combined for around 200 yards in each game.
The depth at running back was tested against Alexander, Logan and Meigs. Against Alexander, Roback had a couple of fumbles, and with Casteel running the ball effectively, the move was made in Casteel’s favor and he finished that game with more than 100 rushing yards. Against Logan, Roback’s minutes were cut due to a minor injury and Casteel was ready to fill in and take over where Roback left off.
Throughout most of the second half of the season, the two have complimented each other well. When one is having an off day, the other is there to pick up the yards and carry that part of the game.
“I can’t tell you how much easier it is for me, calling plays, when you know, hey, stuff’s not going right, let’s get those guys back there, feed them the ball and rely on our o-line,” White said.
A lot of the credit is also due to the offensive line because without the gaping holes, neither running back can be as efficient as they are. Roback said earlier in the season that it is nice to have an offensive line that can hold their blocks and provide running lanes for him.
Casteel and Roback have utilized almost every open lane the line has produced.
With three games left in the season and postseason play in contention, White and his offense have just about made a complete switch to a spread offense, rotating Roback and Casteel into the game. Both players produce about the same amount of touches, just about the same amount of yards and push each other that much more during practice and on game day.
“It’s been a fun experience because they have become fast friends, competing with each other,” White said. “That’s the weird thing about football: the guys you compete with for a job are the guys that you’re closest with, and they have, since they both have emerged as guys that can play on Friday night, they have needed little motivation.”
