Old Dominion University Football begins camp on Monday, Aug. 7. With camp just one week away, ODUSports.com will do a position-by-position preview this week. Today we preview the running backs.
Running Backs on Roster (11)
| Justin Cooper | Jr-r. | 5-11 | 209 |
| Jeremy Cox | Jr. | 5-11 | 217 |
| Malik Fuller | Jr-r. | 5-9 | 176 |
| Gemonta Jackson | So-r. | 5-10 | 193 |
| Ray Lawry | Sr. | 5-10 | 203 |
| Lamar Lucas | Fr. | 5-11 | 215 |
| Josh Marriner | Sr. | 5-9 | 185 |
| Casey Perkins | Fr. | 6-0 | 215 |
| Brandon Simmons | Sr. | 5-9 | 187 |
| Brandon Sinclair | Fr-r. | 5-10 | 208 |
| Kesean Strong | Jr. | 5-10 | 191 |
Running Backs Preview
The good news: Old Dominion University led Conference USA in rushing and set a single-season school record with 2,595 yards in 2017. Even better news: The Monarchs return every running back that touched the ball last season, including ODU all-time leading rusher Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox, who led ODU in scoring last season. The bad news: There is only one ball.
For the third-straight year, Lawry led the Monarchs in rushing. He totaled 1,255 yards, an ODU single-season record, along with 11 rushing touchdowns and also caught 11 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. He enters 2017 as the seventh active rusher in FBS.
Cox had a solid freshman season, but burst onto the scene as a sophomore, rushing for 732 yards and a team-best 13 rushing TD’s. He also had 11 catches for 118 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown catch at Flordia Atlantic, the longest pass in ODU FBS history.
The duo of Lawry and Cox combined for 1,987 yards, the seventh most of any returning duo in the country, and 24 rushing touchdowns last season.
Lawry and Cox also succeeded on something head coach Bobby Wilder stresses; hanging onto the football. Lawry has gone 304-straight touches without fumbling, while Cox’s streak has reached 232-straight touches. Cox has never fumbled in his ODU career. ODU backs did not fumble in 2017, as ODU fumbled just 10 times, losing four.
Redshirt sophomore Gemonta Jackson played rushed 23 times for 103 yards and a touchdown before an injury ended his season after six games. Jackson is also a quality special teams player, as is senior Josh Marriner. Marriner played in all 13 games, carrying the ball 23 times for 84 yards. He was also a stalwart on special teams, playing on nearly every team and finishing second on the squad with 10 special teams tackles.
A former walk-on, senior Brandon Simmons has done everything asked of him in his first three years at ODU, including foregoing a redshirt with four games left in 2015, be a top scout player and perform admirably on special teams. Simmons carried the ball of the first time in his career in 2017, toting 11 carries for 45 yards.
Junior Kesean Strong returns to running back after a switch to wide receiver as a sophomore. As a true freshman in 2015, Strong rushed 27 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. He has also returned kicks and been a strong presence on special teams.
Walk-ons Justin Cooper and Malik Fuller saw their first action in 2016, Fuller played in two games before suffering a season-ending injury, while Cooper played in nine games, mostly on special teams, but also registered two carries for six yards.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Sinclair, a high school teammate of quarterback Drayton Arnold, redshirted in 2016.
True freshman Casey Perkins joins ODU from Smyrna High School in Tennessee. Perkins was ranked the No. 70 running back coming out of high school.