Way before the news of James Starks' shoulder injury made its way to the ears of Bulls fans, friend and fellow senior running back Mario Henry heard the shocking news from Starks himself.
The news shook Henry and gave him a bittersweet feeling. Henry hated to hear that his friend's college football career was capped with a shoulder injury.
But Henry also knew that he was provided an opportunity that he didn't originally have. The 5-foot-9 running back, who only ran the ball 29 times in eight games last year, struggled to get carries with injuries and his low position on the depth chart limiting his appearances.
Now with Starks succumbed to a season-ending injury, it's up to Henry and sophomore running back Brandon Thermilus to maintain Buffalo's strong running presence.
'It's bad for him to be out, but I know he would want us to press on towards the goal,' Henry said. 'Unfortunately we have to move on without him and try to repeat [as Mid-American Conference Champions].'
Thermilus, from Flower Mound, TX, will replace Starks as the starting running back. The bulky 5-foot-11 runner, self-described as a 'bulldozer,' is a bowling ball back that bounces off some defenders and overpowers others.
Though Thermilus does not posses the playmaking ability Starks brought to the offense last season, he says he will bring a spark of force to an offensive backfield now without its two leaders – Starks and quarterback Drew Willy – from last season.
'I will bring energy to the offense,' Thermilus said. 'I'm prepared. I'm just going to do what I need to do and play football. I've been training every day this summertime and practicing hard. Now I just have to step up.'
And the task at hand will be a big one. It's never easy to replace a program's all-time leading rusher.
When the thoroughbred you're replacing ran for 1,333 yards and 16 touchdowns in 12 games last season, getting close to those numbers is a success in itself.
But Thermilus and Henry vow they are ready.
'All of the running backs are pushing each other,' Thermilus said. 'We're helping each other become the best football players we can become.'
Thermilus made himself known to Bulls fans during last year's season opener against UTEP. While splitting carries with Starks, Thermilus ran for 102 yards and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help seal the game in the Bulls' favor. He continued to spell Starks when needed and finished 454 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.
Henry also had a big game to become a relevant member of the Buffalo backfield. Against Temple during the second game of the 2007 season, Henry spelled an ineffective Starks with 125 yards and a touchdown in a 42-7 Buffalo blowout.
But sophomore quarterback Zach Maynard, offensive coordinator Danny Barrett and the rest of the offense will look upon the duo of running backs to provide consistency.
In the two games that Starks missed last season, Thermilus and Henry combined to average 93 yards a game, much lower than what Starks averaged by himself.
Head coach Turner Gill has seen his duo of runners work hard this off-season and does not think the drop-off will be that large.
'There might be a little bit of a drop-off, but there isn't much of one, ' Gill said. 'I anticipate [Henry] to be the kind of player he's been in the past: one who makes plays and makes people miss… [Thermilus] is a guy that doesn't have quite the shiftiness to make people miss, but he's not that far off as far as speed goes. He still has very good speed for a big guy.'
Henry has extra motivation to go out and succeed this season. After losing 12 pounds this summer to get himself into better shape, Henry ended up with more weight on his shoulders when Starks went down.
'I know he'd want us to do the best like we wanted him to do the best when he was in there,' Henry said. 'I take it as a challenge to help this team repeat for James.'
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
