JACKSONVILLE — Lucas Farrington isn't even listed on the Jacksonville State running back depth chart, but guess who was getting the ball as the Gamecocks closed out Middle Tennessee on Saturday night?
The hard-to-tackle sophomore had 12 carries for 94 yards in the 23-13 win, and seven of those rushing attempts came in the final quarter. He ran the ball on the Gamecocks' last three plays, as they needed a first down to keep the Raiders from getting the ball again.
He got 3 yards, then 5. On third-and-two after Middle Tennessee had called its final timeout, Farrington broke off a 19-yard gain to lock up the victory.
To paraphrase Nuke LaLoosh, a character from the 1980s movie "Bull Durham," Farrington announced his presence with authority.
Jax State coach Charles Kelly may or may not put Farrington on top of next week's depth chart, but it's easy to think he'll find his name somewhere on it. At running back, Jax State currently lists junior Jalen Likely as the starter, freshman Cedric Kouemi as the backup and junior Khristian Lando at third team.
Lately, Farrington has pushed a little bit harder to be included. Two weeks ago, he caught three passes for 34 yards in the four-overtime loss at Ohio . Last week, he rushed for 44 yards on four carries in a win over Georgia Southern .
Then on Saturday against Middle Tennessee in Jax State's Conference USA opener, Farrington got plenty of chances with the game still in doubt.
He responded by doing what he does best.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder has a knack for charging forward and disappearing into a scrum of blockers and defenders. Then he comes out the other side with the defense trying to drag him down after he's picked up 5, 6 or 7 yards.
"I mean, Lucas, he's always shown flashes in practice," Jax State defensive back Marc Woods said. "He's always done what he's supposed to do. I just knew when he got his number called, he was going to be able to execute."
Farrington came to Jax State last year as a three-star prospect out of Walton High School in the Atlanta area. He barely played last season as a freshman. He went into the offseason on a mission to change that, especially with All-American Cam Cook gone after receiving the lion's share of the carries last season.
"Well, you know, I told Lucas last spring, you work hard, stick to it, and use common sense, you'll earn playing time," Kelly said, who added that he got that from Loring White, who is one of the namesakes of the Jax State football building.
"I got it written up on my board. But you got to be out there on the field. You got to go through it."
Jax State's Max Thurmond coaches Jax State's running backs, and he's a veteran at getting the most out of young guys, and Farrington clearly is responding.
Kelly said he's hoping the future of the running back position looks kind of like it did Saturday — all four of his guys get to contribute, and nobody gets too many carries.
Farrington's 12 led the way, while Likely (seven rushes for 32 yards), Lando (four for 16 yards) and Kouemi (two for 13 yards) all got some action.
"It'll be a little bit by committee," Kelly said.
It worked Saturday as Jax State began the CUSA schedule with a 1-0 record.
"Last year, we had one guy (Cook) basically carrying us, plus the quarterback ( Caden Creel )," Kelly said. "But now we got four guys we can hand it to. I'm proud of Lucas, but I'm proud of Cedric, Jalen, Khristian — all those guys."
Next week may belong to somebody else.
But Farrington has proven, the Jax State running back race has four horses instead of three.
