Duo gives Dogs' running game a needed spark

They've got a long way to go before they match the exploits of Duran Lawson and Tory Cooper. But Citadel quarterback Miguel Starks and running back Van Dyke Jones took a big step in that direction in last week's 38-28 victory over Furman.

Starks, with 144 yards, and Jones, with 102, became the first Bulldogs duo to each rush for 100 yards in the same game since Lawson and Cooper did it two years ago against Furman.

It was the rushing prowess of QB Lawson and running back Cooper (who combined for 161.7 yards per game), and Lawson's fine-tuned passing (66.4 percent completion rate), that powered The Citadel to 39.5 points per game and a 7-4 record in 2007.

Against Furman, the 6-2, 219-pound Starks demonstrated what a true dual-threat quarterback can mean to coach Kevin Higgins' spread-option offense. He ran for four touchdowns, equaling a school record, and passed for a fifth score in his first college start, and was named Southern Conference player of the week Monday.

"For us to be successful, with the teams we have to play against in the Southern Conference, you have to be able to run the football at the quarterback position," Higgins said Monday at his weekly news conference.

"And you have to have that running game to keep your defense off the field. We had that in 2007.

"We feel real good about Van Dyke Jones stepping up, and (running back) Terrell Dallas has proved to be a good football player, as well. Now, with the other dimension of having Miguel be able to run the football and at the same time help you in the passing game, that adds an awful lot to what we are trying to do."

With QB Bart Blanchard still nursing a sprained toe -- Higgins said Monday that Blanchard is "nowhere near" being ready to play -- Starks will start again Saturday against Samford. After hitting 14 of 19 passes for 183 yards against Furman, Starks is completing passes at a 66 percent clip, and is the Bulldogs' leading rusher with 361 yards and five TDs on 78 carries.

Furman coach Bobby Lamb was impressed.

"Starks is a big kid, a good runner, and when you give him time to set his feet, he can throw the ball downfield," Lamb said after the game. "They've got a pretty good situation with him at quarterback for the next few years."

But Higgins is not ready to proclaim that Starks has arrived. Most obviously, there is the matter of Starks' four fumbles against Furman, two recovered by the Paladins.

"Miguel had a very good first game, and it was a game plan that we were able to keep fairly simple because of what we were going against," he said. "But as we go forward, we're going to have to keep changing the game plan in terms of what we will see from defenses. Last week was good, but this week will present a whole new set of circumstances he will have to handle."

On the fumbles, Higgins said, "We knew the first time he stepped on campus that was going to be a challenge. We watched him as a freshman on the scout team and said, that will be a challenge. But until you actually get under fire, it takes a while to understand that.

"He has a lot of work to do, a lot of things that he still has not seen. There will be things at the line of scrimmage this week that he hasn't seen before. And he also has to deal with having a little bit of success and coming back to play a good, sound game again."

Notes

Jones, a 5-10, 180-pounder, was named SoCon freshman of the week after running for 102 yards on 11 carries against Furman. His 40-yard run late in the game set up the Bulldogs' clinching TD. For the season, Jones has 290 yards and two TDs and is averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

--The Citadel will hold a Hall of Fame banquet Friday night at the Holliday Alumni Center, with 38 Hall of Famers due to attend. This year's inductees include Ken Britt (baseball, class of 1992); Chuck Cordell (baseball, basketball, '74); Scott Thompson (football, '87); John Wood (wrestling, '70); and Gene Moore III (honorary, '50). Tickets are $50 each and are available at 953-6300.