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Spring Ball Chatter: Running Backs
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Why not me, Shaun Shivers asks.
The veteran running back is a confident guy, a physical guy, a guy who can outrun or power past defenders despite size that doesn’t wow.
“I am comfortable I can do the things they said I couldn’t because I know I’ve overcome adversity all my life,” he says with a tone sharpened from years of being underestimated.
“I’ve been an underdog all my life.”
Shivers, once a four-star high school prospect coming out of talent-rich Florida, didn’t transfer from Auburn to Indiana for a final season to spend time on the sidelines or in a limited role.
He wants a featured-back shot.
Indiana, without a returning standout running back, will give him one.
“I run harder than most of the top guys around the nation,” he says. “That’s my game. I run downhill. I get vertical. I can break tackles. I can do the same thing those other guys can do, so why not be the featured running back?”
Shivers will have to earn it, of course. Nothing is given in this Tom Allen-run program. That was true when Shivers became a Hoosier, and it’s true now that Craig Johnson coaches the running backs room.
The 5-7, 190-pound Shivers embraces the challenge.
“I came here because I want to compete. I’m showing them every day I can run between the tackles. I know what I can do.”
Shivers rushed for more than 1,000 yards at Auburn, but it came in decreasing totals. He rushed for 371 yards as a freshman, 286 as a sophomore, 276 as a junior, and 87 last season. By last year he had become a third-down back with 22 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown.
He wanted more, and knew that meant finding a new home for his final season.
It…
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