Hobbs Has Frogs Running At Full Speed
11/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2002
By Don Dowell
In late September, the Horned Frog offense appeared stuck in second gear during grind-it-out wins over metroplex rivals SMU and UNT. Heading into the off-week before resuming Conference USA play, the TCU brain trust of head coach Gary Patterson, offensive coordinator Mike Schultz and quarterbacks coach Dick Winder made some adjustments in the scheme.
More rollouts and bootlegs were put in for redshirt freshman Tye Gunn, who would be starting his first game in place of the injured Sean Stilley, and wasn't as comfortable passing in the pocket. And though only seven games remained, the decision was made to take the redshirt off the true freshman tailback from Clarksville.
With the Frogs trailing 7-3 late in the first quarter against Houston, Lonta Hobbs received his first handoff and blasted his way for 12-yards. This was followed up by another burst of 8-yards. It was like someone flipped a switch and the re-energized TCU offense hasn't been the same since.
Order was soon restored at Amon Carter Stadium as over the next two quarters, Hobbs rushed for 73-yards on 12 carries as the Frogs rolled up 28 points on the way to a 34-17 Homecoming win.
"I thought he gave us a boost," head coach Gary Patterson said. "The more he plays, and the more confidence he gets, I think you are going to see him give us a charge and do some good things. He's not scared. Some freshman running backs step up to the plate and they see the defenders in front them. He's not like that."
"He handled himself really well and didn't look nervous," quarterback Tye Gunn said. "He runs hard. For his size, he's really slippery. He makes holes because he's so strong. He can find holes out there that other backs wouldn't. He's pretty amazing."
The emergence of Hobbs ignited the whole TCU offense.
"One of the things that happened when we took the redshirt off of Lonta Hobbs was that the offensive line start blocking differently because they knew it was for something. When they saw Lonta make some plays in his first game against Houston, they gained confidence and had a purpose. That is what happens when you have a back that makes a defender miss tackles."
Hobbs continued to make defenders miss in the Army game, rushing for 80-yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries in less than ideal weather conditions. This was followed up by the first 100-yard game of his career in the important showdown against revenge-minded Louisville.
The Fast Train From Clarksville explodes to the line of scrimmage with both power and speed. He has good vision of the defense, the ability to cut back and is always moving forward. With his 4.4 speed, he can bring the crowd to its feet and take it to the house, but some of his better runs are finding a few positive yards and knocking over a couple of defenders when it looks like there's nothing there.
And all the while, he makes it look easy, even though he hasn't learned all of TCU's complicated offense yet. So is this Mr. Hobbs also The Natural?
"I shocked even myself with the way I played," admitted the shy tailback with a big, friendly smile. "I knew I had it in me. It's not too different from high school really, I was finding my own holes."
Surely there must have been a big adjustment getting used to the speed of Division I college defenders?
"Not really, it felt like I was running slow," laughs Hobbs. "I think I overestimated the speed of the defenses in college football."
In fact, Hobbs has found college football to be easier than high school, and a whole lot more fun.
"At Clarksville, I played offense, defense and all special teams. College isn't that hard because you just play one position. Hey, you can master that."
"I think he's done a real good job," junior running back Ricky Madison said. "He's a playmaker. I see both LT and Basil Mitchell in him. You could just see it in the first scrimmage. He made a move that other backs don't make. I don't know how he saw the defender and make that quick of a reaction. You could hear the other players and coaches on the sidelines go 'woo.' He's going to be a great football player. He's confident and poised."
Like the great TCU tailbacks before him, Madison has served as a mentor to Hobbs.
"LT did a lot for me," Madison said. "He loosened me up because at one point because I was all tight, like Lonta is sometimes. Coaches were on him about holding the ball high and tight, and they used to do the same thing to me. At one point, LT said, 'don't worry about that, just run. The ball is going to take care of itself.' You do want to protect it, but you want to make plays. If you're worried too much about the ball, you can't make the plays you want to make."
"Lonta is like a little brother," Madison continued. "It's the same thing I went through with LT. And what Basil did to LT. We pass it on down."
"I am changing the way I carry the ball," Hobbs admitted. "I used to do it every wrong way that you could do it."
Winning games has been another adjustment for Hobbs, as Clarksville isn't exactly an East Texas powerhouse in football.
"We won four during the four years I played there," Hobbs said. "Confidence was low. Here, it's a big difference. I like it. I'm really having fun."
A solid student and stellar athlete who also starred in basketball, Hobbs was recruited by all the powerhouses. But he wanted to be sure he was going to play tailback in college.
"Texas was recruiting me to play defensive back. UCLA was recruiting me as a running back. Oklahoma wanted me as an athlete," recalls Hobbs, who also said no thanks to the likes of Nebraska and Texas A&M.
"Hobbs is one who jumped on the boat early, the same as Tye Gunn," Patterson said. "They weren't guys that decided to take five visits, they were Texas kids from small towns who said that they wanted to go TCU. He was offered scholarships to play different places at linebacker. We told him he could play tailback here. He and Robert Merrill, who's redshirting, are our future at running back. We are excited what's going to happen."
"TCU said I could play running back, which is what I wanted to play," Hobbs continued. "I also liked the school, the coaches, and the surroundings. I'm not from a big town, so it's been the best thing for me. I thought I would be lost in big classes, so it's been an advantage for me. It's a nice school."
The C-USA showdown with a tough Southern Mississippi team gave Hobbs his first chance to shine in the national spotlight on ESPN2.
And he responded to the challenge in a big way, becoming an uncontrollable force that the Golden Eagles defense had no hope of stopping, only containing. Hobbs dashed around, knocked over, and eluded one of the nation's best rush defenses on his way to 123-yards rushing and three touchdowns in TCU's amazing 37-7 blowout.
"Our game plan was to run the ball," Hobbs said. "The offensive line blocked well. We went out and performed to our standards. We just went out and had fun basically, that's what it's all about."
Hobbs had pinpointed a weakness in their scheme after watching the game films, and proceeded capitalized on his pre-game studies.
"We had a week and a half to prepare and I watched a lot of film on them," Hobbs said. "I always do. They move around and get jumbled up, it's a good defense, but I figured out when the linebacker comes over and they slant a certain way, I could cut back on them. I found it tonight."
"Lonta's incredible," Stilley said. "I am so proud of him for stepping up. He has a big career ahead of him. It's amazing to see someone that young, come out of a high school that small, and contribute so much to a program. And here he is on national TV against a team close to being ranked, and he helps give us a big-time win."
Surely there were some butterflies during your first game on national TV.
"Not really," Hobbs said. "It's just another football game. I go out and play hard every time. It doesn't matter."
"The thing with Lonta is I am not sure he even knows what's going on yet," Patterson noted. "I think he's going to wake up some day and say 'I just played on national TV and rushed for over 100 yards' and then he'll probably be scared. I don't think he notices it. He just walks around with the smile all the time and just be happy to be here."
"When you see him out there, you can see he truly enjoys the game," Madison said. "He brought that back to me. You can see how the fire in his eyes and how happy he is, beating his helmet and things like that. It is stuff you used to see in Pee Wee football. It ignites a fire in me, and brings that kid back out in you that wants to play and do anything to help the team win. He's a true football player has a special heart and love for the game. I guess you could say he brought some of that to the team."
"He can be a little goofy at times, cracking jokes" Madison added. "He keeps a smile on our faces. It's all good."
So is heading to an unprecedented fifth consecutive bowl game and being in the driver's seat for the third conference championship in four years.
