‘We see the flash.’ Two years removed from injury, Southern Miss RB turning a corner
Southern Miss running back Darius Maberry played second fiddle to Florida State standout Cam Akers during his senior year of high school, but so would have any other player during the 2016 season.
While Akers built a legend on par with that of Marcus Dupree and Steve McNair during his prep career, Maberry was also a vital piece to Clinton’s 2016 run to the Class 6A state championship.
Blake Pennock, who worked then as the offensive coordinator at Clinton, remembers Maberry sparking the Arrows’ late rally to take down Madison Central 38-34 in the state semifinals that season.
“Madison Central scores to go ahead late with about 4 minutes left,” said Pennock, who is now the head coach at Pass Christian. “We’re driving down the field and (Maberry) hits a run where he carries about eight or nine Madison Central players in a scrum and goes another 10 yards after contact. Right after that, he hit it 40 yards out the backdoor. He was gone and that sent us to the state championship.
“That’s vintage (Maberry). He has the ability to get tough yards and break off big runs. That’s kind of rare for a tailback.”
When Southern Miss signed Maberry in February of 2017, many believed Jay Hopson’s program had landed a steal. While Akers was a five-star prospect who drew in offers from the likes of Ohio State and Alabama, USM was Maberry’s only Division I offer.
While sitting out the 2017 campaign to receive a redshirt, there was a buzz surrounding Maberry with expectations growing that he’d quickly emerge as an impact player in 2018.
Whatever momentum Maberry built up came to a sudden halt when he suffered a knee injury in practice prior to the 2017 Independence Bowl against Akers’ Seminoles. He went up for a pass on a wheel route and landed awkwardly.
Maberry recovered in time to get on the field for a pair of games in November of 2018, running a total of 11 times for 40 yards and catching four passes for 20 yards in games against Louisiana Tech and UAB.
Bumpy road back
After working through discomfort in his knee during spring practice earlier this year, Maberry again underwent surgery so doctors could clear out scar tissue.
The 5-foot-9, 191-pound Maberry recovered from the procedure in time for fall camp, but he suffered a couple of setbacks before the season opener after banging knees with a teammate and enduring a bout of tendinitis.
USM running backs coach Chris Buckner, who worked previously at Arkansas State, has only been on the staff since March, but he’s well aware of Maberry’s plight.
“It’s been tough on him and tough on us,” Buckner said.
Maberry acknowledges that he has walked a difficult path at USM, but he added, “I have a whole team to help me out. They keep me up.”
The good news for Maberry and the rest of the USM offense is that he appears be turning a corner on the field.
“We see the flash,” Buckner said. “Sometimes he looks so smooth and gifted. He’s light on his feet and he can pick them up and put them down. Sometimes he looks hurt, but these last two weeks have been amazing.
“He’ll carry the ball this week (during practice). We want to get him back in the groove. He’s only a sophomore. We want him to get going, but we need him 100 percent so he can give us the spark.”
Buckner pointed to a 12-yard run against UTEP this past Saturday as evidence of recent progress and Maberry is confident in his health.
“Physically, I feel great and ready to go,” said Maberry, who has 12 carries for 26 yards this season.
Buckner mentioned the possibility of an “increased role” for Maberry as the team prepares for a Sept. 12 home game against North Texas (2-3, 1-0). The contest is critical for USM (3-2, 1-0) to stay in the hunt for the Conference USA West title. If Maberry can return to his old game-breaking ways from high school, that would be a lift for a USM ground game that has shown improvement over a woeful 2018 season, but has yet to piece together a breakout performance.
Pennock describes Maberry, when healthy, as such a fluid runner that it “looks like he’s running in water in the open field. In two steps, he can be full speed.”
A good mix
Senior De’Michael Harris, a former receiver, has started the last four games and proven a nice addition to the running back corps after sophomore Trivenskey Mosley went down with a knee injury in the season opener. Harris has run 39 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. He also has nine catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns — including a 74-yarder against UTEP.
Mosley has a shot at returning to action this month, but the emergence of Harris has made his absence not quite as painful as first expected.
Buckner said it only took 24 hours to get Harris up to speed on his move to running back and he’s been a perfect replacement for Mosley, who is USM’s best all-around back thanks to his receiving and pass protection skills.
“He’s had a tremendous progression from Week 2 to now,” Buckner said of Harris. “He’s totally peaking at the right time.”
Junior Kevin Perkins has also proven a steady option at running back, carrying 34 times for 171 yards.
Redshirt sophomore running back Steven Anderson left last week’s 31-13 win over UTEP with an injury, but Buckner said Tuesday that he’s confident that he’ll return to the mix for the North Texas game.
“Right now, we’ve got a good 1-2-3 punch with a few guys,” Buckner said. “The biggest thing is getting De’Michael involved in the run and pass game. Perkins has been consistent. Steve has been the same way. (Maberry is) going to see an increased role next week. We just need guys to take advantage of their opportunities and go out and make plays.”
With three other running backs seeing significant time, Maberry is anxious to see more time in the rotation.
“I hope so. I’ve been working my butt off,” he said.
This story was originally published October 3, 2019 at 4:00 AM.
