UWA players discuss “Super Back” position

rp_primary_Superback_SplitLIVINGSTON — Through five games the West Alabama offense has gained 1,684 rushing yards and passed for 1,261 more. Along the way, several players have shared the load.

Running backs Javae Swindle and Kedrick Rhodes each have more than 400 yards rushing. Seth Roberts has over 400 yards receiving and Chad Toocheck has 257. In fact, four different Tigers have over 100 yards receiving.

What about the other offensive skill positions? That’s right, for West Alabama, there is more.

We are talking about Head Coach Will Hall’s very own “super back” position.

“Super back is a position we created to get more of our speed on the field,” Coach Hall said. “It is a guy who has the ability to play slot receiver as well as running back.

“He has to be versatile. He has to be able to do anything a running back does and everything a slot does,” Hall said. “It has to be someone intelligent; someone who knows our system.”

For West Alabama, these versatile athletes are senior Reggie Hall and junior Markeyus “Cheeto” Johnson.

“They are both very athletic, so they make people miss,” Coach Hall said. “They’ve done some great things. Reggie has produced very well for us on carries late in the game. Cheeto was our offensive MVP against Clark-Atlanta.”

Reggie Hall came to West Alabama by way of East Central Community College in 2012. At ECCC his athleticism earned him Most Valuable Player in 2011. As a receiver and punt returner Hall developed the skills he would need to play this new position at UWA.

“A super back needs to be able to get out wide and around defenders, but also strong enough to run from the backfield. He is a do-it-all type back,” Reggie Hall said. “West Alabama is the first place I had even heard of the position.”

Johnson is in his first season as a Tiger super back. Last season he honed his skills as a running back at Pearl River Community College.

Although they may be the only football players in the nation with the titles of “Super Back”, no matter where they line up on the field they are difference makers.

Hall has 215 rushing yards this season. He led the Tigers with 125 yards on the ground against Delta State last week.

Johnson has three touchdowns on 185 total yards. He tallied 96 total yards and a touchdown against Clark-Atlanta to open the season.

These super backs don’t only bring with them speed and versatility, but also depth.

“They mostly compete for the starting super back position,” Coach Hall said, “but if there were to be any injuries at running back or slot they would need to be able to step into those roles.”

“With the other running backs, we just come in everyday and try to push each other,” Reggie Hall said. “We each believe we could be that number one back, so it’s a competition every day. We get called on to do a lot of stuff, and we have no doubt that we will get it done.”

These super backs bring a lot to the table as athletes. Most of all they bring a single dream as West Alabama football players.