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Pittsburgh Football: Rachid Ibrahim’s injury opens up playing time for freshmen

By William Murphy

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A season-ending injury for junior running back Rachid Ibrahim could mean more time on the field for freshmen Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison

For the Pittsburgh Panthers, there have been a lot of questions about play time at the deep running back position. Once you get past James Conner, you have a lot of talent in reserves, and there’s been a lot of indecision about who will get the leftover playing time.

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But the picture should be getting clearer, as head coach Pat Narduzzi announced on Wednesday that junior back Rachid Ibrahim suffered an Achilles injury last Monday that “will probably keep him out for the year”. The injury occurred during non-contact drills, “one of those freak incidents,” says Narduzzi.

While he was limited in minutes last year, Ibrahim did play in all 13 games, averaging 7.97 yards per carry. What he really brought to the table was some unique skills to add to Pitt’s talent at RB. Ibrahim has more speed than both Conner and top backup Chris James. His speed also combines with his size to give him extra capabilities while receiving. Ibrahim’s talents brought a welcome change of pace to the offense.

Lucky for him and his team, Ibrahim hasn’t used up his redshirt year, so he will be able to come back for two more seasons after this year. And while his skills will be missed, his absence will allow for new possibilities for the young newcomers to the running back position, especially for freshman Darrin Hall.

Hall was a four-star recruit coming out of Youngstown, Ohio. Despite his ranking, he has a similar skill set as Chris James, and with the amount of talent already fighting for time on the field, many saw Hall as redshirt potential.

Coach Narduzzi, however, had a different plan in mind, and has been a strong proponent of Hall’s potential to play this year throughout the preseason. He indicated that Hall, among others, had done well in camp, upping the competition, and that Ibrahim was being pushed by Hall to work harder.

This was, of course, was still small talk, and with all the depth on the roster and Qadree Ollison already having used his redshirt year, a redshirt seemed more likely than not for Hall. But now, with Ibrahim out of the picture, it’s looking like Hall will definitely squeeze into the group of four backs Narduzzi plans on bringing on the road this season.

Being able to have Hall on the field this season definitely has its advantages for the Panthers. Narduzzi and his staff have felt very positive about Hall and his progress, and its sounded like he may have even passed up Ollison on the depth chart.

Besides forcing Ollison to compete for his time, giving Darrin the chance at some field time allows the Panthers to see what he can do, and will offer quality experience that he can build upon during his coming years in Pittsburgh. These assets will definitely come in handy for both Hall and Pitt, especially following Conner’s expected exit for the NFL after this season.

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