Thunder and Lightning in Kalamazoo

Dynamic running duo leads Western Michigan

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Aug. 2, 2007

By Douglas Kroll

CSTV.com


	DOUG KROLL Doug Kroll is an editor for CSTV.com, focusing on baseball. E-mail here!

Over the last few seasons, there have been a load of dynamic running back duos in college football. There were Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown at Auburn, Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney at Minnesota, plus Lorenzo Booker and Leon Washington with Florida State.

In step Mark Bonds and Brandon West at Western Michigan. The two burst onto the scene in 2006, helping lead the Broncos to their first bowl game in 18 years when WMU faced Cincinnati in the inaugural International Bowl in Toronto. And now the sophomore West and senior Bonds are set to take the Broncos to the next level.

They each stand only 5-foot-10, but there's one slight difference between the two. Bonds is listed at 219 pounds, while West comes in at 169. That makes their jobs pretty simple to figure out.

Bonds is considered the powerful back, the thunder of the two, while West is the lightning, as the Brunswick, Ga. native has slightly more speed. Bonds, from Indianapolis, led the team with 1,082 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. West finished his freshman campaign with 633 yards and three rushing TDs.

The two complement each other very well.

Many teams now feature two tailbacks. The game has become so physical, it has become a necessity. Head coach Bill Cubit has found his two.

"They are change-of-pace type guys," Cubit said. "When there's a lull in the game, we can put the other guy in there. There's not a comfort zone there with those guys. Bonds may be a 1,000-yard rusher and an All-Conference guy but you go ask him today and he doesn't know if he's going to play. It's all about merit each day. I think you need two guys. The game is too physical and you need a change-of-pace guy to give you a different look scheme-wise."

The success of the 2006 season weighed heavily upon an experienced quarterback, Ryan Cubit, who threw 16 touchdowns and averaged 194.4 yards per game through the air. With Cubit gone and only one quarterback returning with a start from last year, the success of Bonds and West will come into the limelight.

It's already been discussed with both backs that it's up to them to take the pressure off whoever that starting quarterback will be.

"We have two great quarterbacks, but to get the load of their shoulders and make great passes, we're going to have to run the ball," Bonds said. "We'll have to get big chunks of yards on first down so that on third down they can make a pass that's third and two or third and three instead of being third and long."

The other guys with a little bit of pressure on them will be the offensive linemen, and like most good running backs, this duo gives all the credit in the world to the big men up front. When asked what makes the two so good, senior center Robbie Krutilla didn't want to take all the credit. But then again, maybe he did.

"The o-line," Krutilla admitted, showing flashes of a sense of humor. "Right off the bat, they'll be the first guys to tell you that. I think the different styles [make them so good]. Bonds is slower than me, but he'll hit somebody. But West is so slippery, you never know where he's at."

Bonds is indeed one of the first to tell you how good the offensive line is.

"If they aren't the best, then they are one of the best offensive lines in the conference," Bonds said. "They're smart, they've got experience, they're strong, athletic, so it should be a great season for the running backs and the whole offensive team."

West followed the same sentiments.

"I think the offensive line should get all the credit," West said. "Without blocking, running the ball wouldn't exist."

It's almost as if Bonds has taken West under his wing like a little brother. Having a guy like Bonds to look up to was a huge factor for West in his freshman season, and he continues to learn from him.

"He told me that with my skill level, no matter what, I'm going to play," West said. "That felt good. When we had running back meetings, he helped me get into the spot I needed to be in, and helped me with plays and told me when to do this and when to do that. That helped out a lot."

Bonds doesn't mind being a teacher.

"I pretty much told him to have the same mindset that he had in high school playing on Friday nights," Bonds said of his running mate. "You'd come to those games knowing you can't be stopped and do what you got to do. It's the same way in college, just on a different level. Even though you're 18 and playing against 22- or 23-year-olds, you still have to play your game."

The two running backs will try to improve on a rushing offense that finished sixth out of the 12-team MAC last season.

But there were a number of occasions where it was a two-headed attack that led to a Western Michigan win last season. The best game the two had together was at home against Eastern Michigan, when Bonds ran for 97 yards and a touchdown while West gained 87 yards on only 10 carries.

Whether one comes in because the other's tired, or because the team needs one yard for a first down (in which case Bonds will almost certainly be the guy), the two have grown quite a bond.

The two push each other every day at practice. When Bonds breaks a long run, he'll talk some smack to West, and when West breaks a long run, you can bet he does the same.

"The two work hard in practice," junior defensive tackle Nick Varcadipane said. "Each guy goes full speed when they are in the game. When one guy gets tired, the other guy comes in. I think that helps out the team a lot."

Of course there's always room to improve, and each has set a personal goal on the field this year. For West, it's to bulk up and become stronger, but he adds, "Not too big, because then I'll lose my speed." As for Bonds, he wants to break more long runs than he did in 2006.

And with another guy named Bonds all over the news of late, it's nice to hear about someone else with the same last name. Mark gets asked the obvious question quite a bit.

"My sophomore year of high school, the same night [Barry hit a milestone homerun], I set a record by scoring five touchdowns," Bonds said. "So it was in the paper and my grandmother told me that he was my distant cousin. I don't know for sure if he was at the family reunion or not."

Enough long runs alongside one of the best defenses in the conference will certainly help get the name Bonds into the paper for reasons other than allegations of steroid use, and more importantly, it will help the Broncos live up to preseason expectations - they are picked to win the conference. With Bonds and West, they will have that shot.