McCombs wants leadership role

Lyle McCombs spent a good portion of preseason training camp dealing with questions about whether his body could withstand a season’s worth of pounding.He understood it came with the territory of being a tailback listed as 5-foot-8 and a very generous 172 pounds.“Soaking wet,” says McCombs, who is probably an inch shorter and seven pounds lighter.Those queries ended rather quickly. McCombs not only proved he could handle a full workload and bounce up from every big tackle, but remain productive as the carries mounted.Last week, McCombs became the second freshman and 14th runner to top 1,000 yards in a season. He also leads the Big East in rushing yardage (1,014) and carries (234) heading into the Huskies penultimate regular season game with Rutgers on Saturday at Rentschler Field (noon, ESPN2).“A thousand yards means everything,” McCombs said Tuesday. “That’s what a running back wants to see, as far as numbers go, is 100-yard games and 1,000-yard seasons. That’s usually the goal, an...