MOORHEAD, Minn. (8/23/08)-- Even though the Cobbers return a three-time All-Conference performer in the little burst of dynamite known as Cory Johnson, the key for the Cobber backfield will be to find a pair of athletes to line up next to Johnson.

What made the Cobber offense so tough in 2007 was the fact that the team had a pounder in fullback Adam Swingdorf and an unselfish blocker in Nick Reinisch. Both players were lost to graduation and both will be sorely missed. Swingdorf set the school record for touchdowns in a single season and Reinisch was a two-year starter who made the big block on most Cobber long gain plays.

The cupboards are far from bare in the CC backfield. With Johnson, Concordia has one of the premiere running backs in the league. Over his first three seasons, Johnsons has carried the ball 346 times and is averaging 7.0 yards per carry during that time. Last year he had four games where he rushed for over 100 yards and had a career-high 172 yards against Hamline. His speed and toughness make him a threat to break a big run at any point in the game.

With the other backs, Horan was able to give valuable playing time to many freshmen and sophomores last season when the team was up big in games late in the year. The biggest winners from those situations were fullback Nick Birchem and running backs Justin Brantner, Ben SaariBovre and Bo Jedinak. Birchem will be the starting fullback in 2008 and is a return to the bowling ball type back that dominated the Cobber “three yards in a cloud of dust” attack in the early 2000’s with Ed Oehlers and Kevin Williamson. Last season he ran the ball 22 times and had four touchdowns. He will be the main weapon when the Cobbers get the ball inside the opponent's five yard line.

The other running back slot will be filled by Aron Goraczkowski and Kyle Hilleren. Goraczkowski made the switch from quarterback to running back last season and gave the Cobber offense another weapon because he was liable to pull up and throw the ball downfield at any time. He ended the year with a 4.5 yards per carry average and threw for a TD running out of the option. Hilleren is a tall, athletic back who has shown promise for a couple of years. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry and is a solid option the passing game coming out of the backfield to give quarterback Jesse Nelson a big target. Both players saw extensive playing time last season and both will be counted on to produce key carries and make key blocks in 2008.

Horan Says: “We have a burst of dynamite in Cory Johnson. He is a four-year starter and is very electrifying in that he can break off a long run at any time.”