Stevie Scott III's patience has been tested this season. The sophomore running back has adjusted to a selfless role in a new-look offense and his numbers weren’t initially going his way in his second-year campaign.
At times, the IU football offense has almost abandoned the run game this season and solely relied on passes through the air. Other than his six carries against Ohio State, Scott has managed to get double-digit touches in each game so far.
His time was due, it was only a matter of when.
Scott ran for over 100 yards for the first time all season last week, and he did the same thing again in Saturday’s 34-28 win at Maryland.
“The O-line stepped it up and really started blocking,” Scott said. “They dug deep.”
Scott finished with 108 rushing yards on 18 attempts and scored two touchdowns, his first time finding the end zone since Sept. 21 against the University of Connecticut.
Once sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. left the game, Scott was prepared to have a strong performance out of the backfield with Maryland sneaking up on IU’s lead. His first run of the second half went for 34 yards, his longest of the day.
“Take what we can get with those two or three yards, and eventually those big runs will pop,” Scott said. “I was just being patient and going with the flow.”
Junior quarterback Peyton Ramsey played well in relief of Penix, but he doesn’t have the same arm power. The Hoosier passing game is limited with Ramsey at quarterback, but Scott’s ability to rip through defenses opens up play-action and run-pass option plays.
Sometimes Scott will even get involved catching the ball out of the backfield. He totaled five catches for 36 receiving yards Saturday, both career highs.
“I’m glad the running backs are really being used in the passing game this year to make our offense more dynamic,” Scott said. “One of my biggest goals coming into this season was being that back that can be in on every down and be anywhere on the field to help this team win.”
