Gamer: Things 'working out fine' for Wiggins under Rodriguez

Oct. 19—JACKSONVILLE — A good running back has the patience to wait for holes to develop, and that sums up Ron Wiggins' situation at Jacksonville State this season.

"Everything is working out fine," the Jacksonville High graduate and redshirt sophomore said.

Wiggins is coming off one of his best games as a collegian. He amassed 95 total yards in JSU's 47-31 victory over North Alabama at Madison on Saturday. His day included 53 rushing yards on seven carries and two catches for 42 yards, the Gamecocks' second-highest total for receiving yards at Toyota Stadium.

His 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown marked his first college touchdown catch.

Wiggins' 42 receiving yards marked a career high. His 95 total yards made for his second-highest total. He had 98 yards, all rushing, at Lamar in 2021 and 83 rushing yards at Murray State this season.

His performance against UNA came within the context of a big day for a quartet of JSU backs. Redshirt sophomore Anwar Lewis rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt senior Matt LaRoche added 90 yards and a touchdown run, and redshirt junior Pat Jackson chipped in eight yards on four runs.

JSU finished with 350 rushing yards. Lewis had a 60-yard touchdown run. Wiggins and quarterback Zion Webb each had a run of 20 yards or more.

The stats reflect where JSU's tailbacks stand on the depth chart. Lewis leads JSU with 87 carries and 624 yards. LaRoche is second at 73 carries and 430 yards.

Wiggins is fourth on the team, behind Webb, with 27 carries and 229 yards and Jackson sixth, behind backup quarterback Aaron McLaughlin, at 27 and 90.

At 8.5 yards a carry, Wiggins leads all Gamecocks with at least 20 totes.

All four JSU running backs have seen action in at least five games. Wiggins has appeared in six, Lewis and LaRoche all seven. First-year JSU coach Rich Rodriguez puts a premium on being able to run the ball and wear opponents down, so he uses at least two backs a game.

In a system with a goal of 90 offensive plays a game, JSU's backs have plenty of touches to go around. The more Rodriguez is asked, the more fond of Wiggins he sounds.

"Ron Wiggins is a good player," Rodriguez said. "He's still learning a little bit, but he's got a great future."

Wiggins would seem to be a nice fit for Rodriguez's system. Consistent with backs Rodriguez has had at other stops and has at JSU, Wiggins, Lewis and LaRoche are all less than 6-feet tall and less than 200 pounds.

Jackson is the biggest of the JSU running backs who see regular action at 6-0, 225. Bigger backs like Josh Samuel (5-11, 215) and Uriah West (6-0, 225) transferred, Samuel to Austin Peay and West to Rice.

All of JSU's current backs have demonstrated shiftiness and the ability to break long runs, and they have deceptive strength.

"I've had a lot of vertically challenged backs, but even the ones that are a little bit shorter are all physical," Rodriguez said. "J.J. Taylor is one of the best ones I've had, at Arizona, and he's in the NFL now (New England Patriots). He wasn't a tall guy, but he was strong, and he's quick.

"You don't have to be the tallest guy and still have some strength. A good thing about our backs is, they make you tackle them. They don't go down easy, and they fight for extra yards."

That's consistent with Wiggins as area high school football fans knew him at Jacksonville. He rushed for more than 5,000 combined yards as a junior and senior. He helped the Golden Eagles win 23 games in two years and achieve their deepest ever playoff run, to the 2019 Class 4A final.

He signed with JSU under John Grass' staff and remains a Gamecock after Rodriguez welcomed 50 new players between spring practice and fall camp.

Wiggins has caught Rodriguez's eye.

"It's kind of weird, but he's a better game player than he is a practice player, and he's not a bad practice player," Rodriguez said. "You get him in a game, and he's elusive and can make you miss."

Wiggins keeps pushing to earn his chances.

"Every day, it's a grind, you know?" he said. "Every day, we're competing for a spot. It's just competition, at the end of the day."

Sports Writer Joe Medley: 256-235-3576. On Twitter: @jmedley_star.