Trying to find Jeff Backes on the Northwestern depth chart seems a lot like “Where’s Waldo” since the beginning of the last football season.
After coming to NU as a record-setting running back in 2000, Backes moved to wide receiver midway through the 2002 season.
Then, two weeks before he was set to begin spring practice this year at receiver, coach Randy Walker told Backes he was changing positions yet again — this time to cornerback.
“Coach said my next position is cheerleader,” Backes laughed.
The 5-foot-9 sparkplug is learning to backpedal in coverage and break with receivers instead of running through holes and catching the football. But just like the first position change, Backes is taking the transition in stride.
“There was never a moment when I was down or I took it as an ego shot,” Backes said. “Football is football, no matter where you play.”
Ironically, Backes’ career at Upper Arlington High School also began with a position change. After starting at free safety and wide receiver his sophomore year, two injuries to teammates forced him to move to tailback. Backes took the ball and ran with it, leading the team to a state championship with 3,354 yards and 44 touchdowns on the ground in his senior year.
The season earned Backes the title of “Mr. Football” in Ohio, where he is still revered around the state.
“When he is in town, everyone still knows him as Mr. Backes,” said high school teammate Simon Fraser, a defensive end at Ohio State.
When it came time to choose a college, Backes’ size (5-foot-9, 190 pounds) and speed prompted many schools to evaluate Backes at cornerback although he had never played the position.
“I tried to go in with idea I would play running back in college, but I’d be open to play wherever,” Backes said. “I always kept an open mind.”
After Backes chose NU over hometown Ohio State, he redshirted his first season while watching the Cats’ last great running back, Damien Anderson, finish his career with a disappointing senior season.
The next spring, Backes found himself competing with three others to replace Anderson. Former wide receiver Jason Wright eventually won the job during the season and Backes struggled to find playing time.
Walker solved the problem by moving Backes to receiver after five games, where he finished the season with 18 catches for 127 yards. At the time, Walker said, “Jeff Backes is going to be a running back here, and he’s going to be a great one.”
But with the Cats’ depth at wide receiver this spring, Walker again moved Backes’ name on the depth chart. This switch brought a different playbook.
“It was a personal decision, and I struggled with it for a long time,” Walker said. “I still think he’s a gifted guy with the ball in his hands, but I knew we needed to shore up the defense, and I think he’s one of our best football players.”
Backes’ shift to cornerback will help Walker play five defensive backs at times in an effort to improve a defense that ranked last in the Big Ten in yards allowed last season.
But the most difficult part of the decision may have been taking the ball out of Backes’ hands. The sophomore’s combination of agility and 4.3 40-speed made him the 13th-ranked kick returner in the nation last season.
“My favorite thing about football is when you get the ball in your hands,” Backes said. “On defense you just have to look harder for chances to get the ball.”
While Backes may have ideal physical attributes to play cornerback, the adjustment is mostly mental.
The difference between running back and defensive back is you need to be much more disciplined,” said Torri Stuckey, who made a similar move — from running back to safety — last summer. “On offense, the play is set in the huddle and you know what you’re doing, there’s not nearly as much variation.
“As a D-back, you have to react to the offense — in a split-second you might have to make a check.”
Stuckey said he likes what he’s seen out of Backes so far, but Walker said it’s too early to tell if he’ll stick at the position.
Backes said his hip flexibility is still behind the other corners, and switching to a defensive mentality will take more time.
In Tuesday’s practice at Trienens Hall, Backes stepped in front of a slant pattern intended for wide receiver Mark Philmore and intercepted the pass.
Although he’s making progress at his third position in six months, Backes made it clear that he would have little trouble lining up in the backfield again at moment’s notice.
“If the situation arose where they needed a running back I think I could do it,” he said. “A position like that is so natural, it would take me five minutes to go back. I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
