David Hurst’s Kansas University football teammates are skeptical of tales of his ball-carrying abilities.
“I played fullback my freshman year in high school,” said Hurst, KU’s 6-foot-3, 260-pound, third-year sophomore tight end from Austin, Texas. “I was actually pretty good. I rushed for over 1,000 yards, but no one believes me. I’m going to have to show them tapes, but they still won’t believe it’s me.”
Maybe that’s because they’ve seen him in practice.
It’s not so much that Hurst, who has moved into the fullback spot vacated by the injured Moran Norris, doesn’t know what to do with the pigskin once he has it. It’s getting him where he’s supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there, that has taken some work.
“Today was the hardest practice, mentally, I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Hurst said Tuesday after Norris spent his second straight practice on the sideline nursing a sprained left ankle. “There’s so much they have to do back there.
“I think tight end and fullback are pretty much interchangeable. They’re about the same size, the same physical features. Physically, it’s about the same. But mentally, it’s all lining up. Sometimes I go in the huddle, get the play, and I line up at tight end, and I’m supposed to be at fullback. It’s tough.”
Hurst has lined up in the backfield before in KU’s “big” goal-line offensive set. So it wasn’t a total shock in Saturday’s victory over Colorado when Norris went out and Hurst was sent in as his replacement.
He did, however, have to put his foot down on one play.
“We were supposed to run a play where I fake a handoff,” Hurst recalled with a laugh. “I told coach, ‘Nobody’s going to go for that fake.'”
KU coach Terry Allen said Tuesday he might not know until Thursday whether Norris who was ranked by one NFL scouting service as the top fullback in the country will play Saturday against Texas Tech.
If not, the Hurst and red-shirt freshman tailback Reggie Duncan likely would split time at the fullback spot.
“Any way I can help the team, I’ll do it,” Hurst said. “I’ve been struggling in the catching department lately, and I want to contribute in a positive way, anything I can do.”
Hurst is confident Norris will return Saturday. If not
“It’d be nice to turn into Moran,” Hurst said. “Give me a couple of carries, before you know it, I’m rushing for 500 yards. Watch No. 88 up the middle.”
But seriously, folks, Hurst isn’t trying to replace Norris, who is an inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter than Hurst.
“He’s the strongest guy on the team,” Hurst said. “I’m not as strong or as fast, not as nifty. I’m a poor man’s Moran. He’s stronger and faster. But I’m a lot better looking. That’s no contest.”
Hurst was lead-blocking for both of KU’s touchdowns against Colorado.
One of those TDs was a run by Duncan, a 5-9, 220-pounder from Killeen, Texas.
“Reggie Duncan could play fullback, yes,” Allen said. “He did a good job (against CU). It obviously had a real positive effect on him. He had his best practice of the year today, which is typical when you get a chance and make the most of it. You tell him all the time, ‘You’re a sprained ankle away from playing.’ The irony of the situation is, it was a sprained ankle.”
If Norris still is ailing, Duncan likely would be Norris’ replacement in KU’s one-back sets.
But would he line up as the blocking back?
“For the team I would,” Duncan said with a split-second of hesitation. “This is a team game. If they asked me to step up, I’d do it.”
But Duncan doesn’t expect to fill all of Norris’ roles.
“We miss Moran,” he said. “We miss him a lot. He’s always making a joke when you’re tired, picking us up. I can’t play the joker role.”
Kickoff for KU-Texas Tech will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Injury update: Fifth-year senior center Bob Schmidt practiced extensively Tuesday, but it won’t be known until Thursday whether he or third-year sophomore Nick Smith will start against Texas Tech. And offensive guard Kyle Grady, whose two knee injuries limited him to two games this season, is out for the year. He’s scheduled to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday.
Red-shirt regret: Allen said it about yanking the red shirt of freshman wide receiver J.T. Thompson, the only true freshman who has played this season. “We thought we needed him early because we had a number of guys banged up. Hindsight is 20-20. Maybe we shouldn’t have taken his red shirt away from him, but he’s a pretty good player. We need to get him more involved.” Thompson has played in three games but has just one catch for eight yards.
