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Of all the problems Indiana football has had in its history, running back usually has not been one of them.
The Hoosiers' all-time leading rusher is Anthony Thompson, who finished with 5,299 career rushing yards, starred on two of Indiana's greatest teams (the eight-win squads of 1987 and 1988) and finished second in the 1989 Heisman voting. Recent IU running backs such as Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard have had productive roles in the NFL. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had multiple 1,000 yard seasons for the Bengals and Patriots.
In 2023, coach Tom Allen's team returns Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas, vital contributors from the 2022 Hoosiers. Henderson is as solid as they come, entering his fifth season in Bloomington. He's coming off a career-best year, when he ran for 398 yards and four touchdowns while also racking up 24 receptions for 274 yards and four touchdowns.
Lucas might be the most popular man in the entire building because of his speed and overall quickness. The dynamic 5-foot-9 sophomore burst onto the scene in 2022 with two kickoff return touchdowns and first team All-American recognition.
But what about Christian Turner?
After three seasons at Michigan and then two seasons at Wake Forest, there might not be a more well-traveled player on the roster. Turner, a three-star prospect from Buford, Ga., committed to coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines in 2018, but he quickly found himself buried on the depth chart behind future NFL talents in Hasaan Haskins and Zach Charbonnet.
At Wake Forest, Turner played a role in the famous Dave Clawson slow mesh, read option offense (sometimes referred to as "The Clawfense"). He was the second-leading rusher for Wake in back-to-back years, finishing with 1,022 combined yards for a team that went 19-8 over two seasons.
Even in a room with established, incumbent talents such as Henderson and Lucas, word around fall camp is that Turner is too talented to keep off the field.
"He has very good short area quickness, [and] he's a good pass protector," Indiana running backs coach Craig Johnson said. "The greatest thing that he has done is that he is a relentless studier of the game, and he is all in the details. He is into football, in a big way, and that's a good thing."
Countless running back duos over the years have been labeled "thunder and lightning." That's often an oversimplification of what each back offers with their unique skillsets.
Yet the description fits the 2023 Indiana running back room. Lucas is lightning incarnate, and Henderson can be the thunder with steady and strong running between the tackles.
Turner is self-described as a medium that fits between his two teammates' styles.
"All of us kind of have our own style," Turner said. "Josh is in between the tackles; he's hard to take down. Jay Lu is super fast. I'm more of a balanced back. We've kind of pulled from each other different things that we can use, so we've made each other more diverse."
Every team would love to have a generational, one-of-a-kind running back who can play every snap and carry the entire offense on his way to a 2,000-yard season. That's the ideal every team wants, but it's rarely the reality.
What Turner said describes Indiana's reality: A diverse, multifaceted room with backs who can fill in the gaps for each other is a great thing. It's not a position like quarterback where one has to rise above the rest, and those lower on the depth chart rarely contribute on the field unless something goes wrong. It's not even like linebacker or corner, where backups might play, but the coaches' preferences are clear.
Running back by committee is about attacking and punishing the defense no matter who is playing. With the trio of Henderson, Lucas and Turner, IU should have just that. The team has experimented with more two-back sets this offseason, and when Lucas or Henderson need a break there's a proven commodity in Turner waiting on the sideline. The Wake Forest transfer might even overtake both of them for the traditional starting role.
Lucas sounded giddy on Monday talking about Turner.
"Christian, he got moves that you never seen," Lucas said. "Y'all didn't really see the real Christian yet. He's like that."
The position of running back is at an inflection point. The NFL offseason has been dominated by contract disputes and trade requests from its top young stars at the position, and it appears that decision makers view backs as easily replaceable. Why pay a running back if your offensive line is more important to a good ground game?
Allen and Indiana didn't have to offer Turner a contract to get him to Bloomington. But they did use a roster spot, as well as time and and energy in the transfer portal, to get him there. They invested the time even though IU already had running back depth with Lucas, Henderson and even Trent Howland.
However, Turner is meant to complement Henderson and Lucas, not replace either one. He's another weapon to help this three-pronged attack be at its most dangerous, and all three are on the same page. All three know they're each talented enough to be a starter. All three are excited for what they can do in 2023.
"Everybody treats it the same way," Turner said. "Everybody is attacking with that mentality as if they're a starter, and that's good for us."
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