Central Michigan Chippewas 2018 position group preview: Running backs
Central Michigan began fall practice on Aug. 3, meaning the 2018 season is just around the corner. For more position group previews, check Central Michigan Life over the days leading up to kickoff:
Position: Running backs
Projected starter (pictured above): Jonathan Ward (junior)
Key backups: Romello Ross (redshirt junior), Kumehnnu Gwilly (redshirt sophomore), Jerrod Davis (junior)
Breakdown: Emerging as a sophomore last season, Ward became the first Central Michigan running back to go for over 1,000 yards on the ground since Thomas Rawls four years ago. The breakout campaign solidified him as the star of the future, making him the projected starter for the 2018 season.
Here's Bonamego's breakdown of the running backs: "Obviously the running back (group) is deep. Jonathan Ward, Romello Ross, Kumehnnu Gwilly, (Jerrod) Davis has had a really good spring. Ward has really impressed me in terms of his maturity with how he handles situations in practice and manages his emotions. He’s the bell cow in that room, but Ross and Gwilly aren’t far behind."
Before Ward even stepped foot on campus at CMU, head coach John Bonamego knew he had something special. The now-junior set career records at Bishop McNamara with 83 touchdowns and 5,689 rushing yards.
The main piece of Ward's skill set that works to CMU's advantage is his ability to play more than one role as a running back, which bewilders Bonamego.
Essentially, if CMU decides to go with a running back by committee in certain situations, having Ward on the field as a pass-catching back is vital.
“Jonathan can be whatever he wants to be,” Bonamego said. “He’s a very talented kid. We knew that when we recruited him. He’s grown as a football player, he’s grown as a person.
“He is very, very tough; he is a very hard worker. He has a very broad skill set which is what makes him special. He’s a big weapon. He’s got to be on the field as much as he can.”
Ward, along with rushing for 1,019 yards, caught passes for 470 yards - a total of 1,489 yards from scrimmage in 2017. He scored 13 touchdowns and his 114.5 yards per game average ranked third in the Mid-American Conference.
He collected Second Team All-MAC honors, was ranked as the 21st-best running back by The Sporting News and 36th-best by Athlon Sports. Ward concludes he is better than 21st overall and plans are to turn that number into motivation this season.
Missing four games as a freshman, opposing defensive coordinators finally have a full season of tape on Ward. The pressure is on more than ever for the 6-foot, 185-pound speedster.
“I’ve been taking conditioning and working out this summer very, very seriously,” Ward said. “You have to. You have to take care of your body. I understand that I might get a bigger workload this year, but I think that I’m ready for it. It’s something that I think I can handle. I’ve been doing this for a long time, handling the workload; in high school, it was the same thing.
During the 2016 season, Ross was on the sidelines with a torn ACL he acquired while making a jump cut in fall camp.
The year before, Ross was planning to take a redshirt but it was burned due to injuries, specifically involving former running back, current wide receiver Devon Spalding.
"Anytime you lose any player it's tough. You hate to lose anybody," Bonamego said following the injury 2016. "Romello was definitely somebody that we were counting on to play a significant role, but when someone goes down it just opens up opportunities for others."
Ross, at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, made his return the field in 2017, rushing 54 times for 203 yards and one touchdown. In 2015, he ran the same amount of times for 247 yards and four scores, also finding the end zone on a catch and run in six games.
Ranked No. 16 on the Detroit Free Press Fab 50 list, Ross polished his Detroit Western High School career with 5,020 rushing yards, 84 rushing touchdowns, nine return touchdowns and four interceptions for touchdowns.
The youngest of the top three is Gwilly, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound machine. Taking redshirt in 2016, he appeared in all 12 games in 2017 and made three starts.
Bonamego said Gwilly had an excellent spring, but the high-octane level of performance has to continue throughout fall camp.
Gwilly went for 4,175 yards and 38 touchdowns during three years as a starter for Utah High School in Michigan. He was named to the Associated Press and Detroit News Division 1-2 First Team All-Star squads.
The skill set for Gwilly to be a big downfield running back is there. In order to make it happen, he has to focus on staying consistent for the Chippewas in a backup role as a redshirt sophomore.
Junior running back Jerrod Davis pushes through the CMU defense during the spring game on April 21 in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Davis, from Portage Central in Detroit, took a grayshirt in 2014 and redshirt in 2015. He did not play in 2016 but worked as a return man last season. He took 18 kickoffs for 478 yards and one touchdown, which came against rival Western Michigan.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back added one punt return for 32 yards.
In CMU's Spring Game on April 21, Davis showed spurts of greatness but is still expected to be the fourth in a loaded group of running backs.
Even though Ross, Gwilly and Davis have shown capabilities of holding down the team's No. 1 running back position, Ward has jumped to even higher expectations.
