Homer Ready for Opportunity Against GT

Homer Ready for Opportunity Against GT

By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com

 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Catch Travis Homer walking around the University of Miami campus and you will find a laidback, thoughtful college student who is likely flashing a smile and hanging with his friends between classes.
 
Find Homer on a football field and you’ll see the same college student, but with a very different temperament.
 
“There’s no doubt,” Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said. “He’s as tough as they come. He’s a different dude when he’s on the field. I told people all the time, even last year when he first got here, that he looks real quiet and laid back. On the football field, he’s a different dude.”
 
Hurricanes fans will be seeing a lot more of Homer going forward, as the sophomore running back will be the focal point of Miami’s running game now that junior Mark Walton has been lost for the season due to injury.
 
“I just know that I have to come out here and work as hard as I can,” Homer said. “I hope I have showed the coaches that I am ready to come out here and do what he did.”
 
Homer has been a quality running back for the Hurricanes, rushing for 213 yards in 23 carries this season. The sophomore has made the most of his opportunities, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and scoring three rushing touchdowns, but he will have an increased role now that Miami’s All-ACC back is out for the season.
 
“I am very sad that this happened to Mark,” Homer said. “I hope he has a speedy recovery, my best wishes are with him. I haven’t seen him face-to-face yet, but I sent him some texts. We both agree that I need to step up and that we are going to keep holding it down for him.”
 
Walton has been outstanding for Miami, averaging 7.6 yards per carry and amassing 445 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. But offensive lineman Kc McDermott believes Miami has the depth at running back to continue their success on the ground and it starts with Homer.
 
“It doesn’t change at all,” McDermott said of Miami’s running game. “Travis is a very good backup. We have [Trayone Gray], who is a very good backup. We have guys that can fill the spot, so the game plan doesn’t change at all.”
 
Brown certainly believes in Homer. While some players may be wary of the spotlight, Brown is confident Homer will flourish in his increased role.
 
“One thing I love about Travis is that from day one, he doesn’t get nervous and if he does, he doesn’t show it or if he does, he does a great job of disguising it if he does get nervous,” Brown said. “I think he has become more vocal over the last three weeks even before this past week. I have obviously full faith and confidence in everything he does offensively. He is a tough physical football player and he does a great job in pass protection.”
 
In addition to being a quality running back, Homer has been a special teams ace for the Hurricanes. He takes great pride in excelling for the Hurricanes every chance he gets.
 
“Travis is a very serious young man,” Miami head coach Mark Richt said. “He takes practices very serious. He takes his assignments very serious. He’s very business-like. He knows what to do, he knows how to do it. He’s in unbelievable condition. He loves playing the game. He loves playing special teams. Even this last game, we’re trying to give him a break and [said], ‘Hey, you don’t need to cover this kick.’ He [said], ‘No, I’m covering this kick.’ There are a lot of guys like that.  Even like [Christopher] Herndon, Coach Hartley is getting ready looking for a time to sub and give him a break, and [Christopher] Herndon [said], ‘I’m not coming out. I’m playing every snap.’ Herndon played 67 snaps on offense and I don’t know how many on special teams. The guy played 80 or 90 plays. A lot of guys are like, ‘no, I’m not coming out’ and Homer is one of those kind of guys.”

Beyond Homer, Miami will turn to redshirt junior Trayone Gray as the new second running back in the rotation.
 
“I think he has earned the opportunity,” Brown said. “He’s earned the right and now he has to take advantage of it. I’m going to give him every opportunity to come into the game. He’s had a really good week in practice. He’s better than he’s ever looked, which in some ways kind of makes him mad a little bit. He’s worked his butt off. He looked really good on Sunday. We finally took his knee brace off, which I think is a confidence booster for him. He can move better and he can bend better. He’s a 235-pound man that can really fast when he wants to, so he’s in a perfect spot to help this team.”
 
While Homer and Gray are poised to be the top two options for Miami, redshirt sophomore Crispian Atkins and freshman DeeJay Dallas can also grow into options as the season progresses. Atkins and Burns have been in the running back group all year, but Dallas is just now switching to the position after opening his career at wide receiver.
 
“DeeJay is very talented and very athletic and we knew that coming in,” Brown said. “We kind of talked about playing him at receiver and running back before the season started. I think he’s done a really good job of trying to grasp the system. It’s obviously very different when it comes to playing running back coming from the receiver position. Obviously you can’t simulate the contact that you’re going to take until you get into a football game and we have to get ready for that. We’re planning on all four of those guys to play.”