DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — While his teammates were playing football last season, Miami University's Brandon Murphy mostly played a waiting game.

The junior running back waited for his sprained ankle to heal and it didn't happen. He did not touch the football in five of Miami's games, scored only one touchdown and did not rush for 100 yards in any game.

This was a year after he set the Mid-American Conference on fire, rushing for 1,070 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Last season Murphy managed only 280 yards in limited duty while averaging 3.5 yards.

Now that Miami has opened its spring practice, the waiting is over. Murphy is back on the field, going full tilt.

"He's 100 percent," RedHawks head coach Shane Montgomery said. "He feels as good as he's been in a long time."

Murphy isn't Miami's only running back. Red-shirt freshman Andre Bratton (285 yards rushing, four touchdowns, 4.5 average last year) and junior Austin Sykes (204 yards, three touchdowns, 2.9 average) also are in the mix.

"We'll be playing two or three tailbacks," Montgomery said. "With Andre and Austin coming back, we're as deep there as we've been in a while."

The RedHawks hope that depth will translate into an improved running game. Miami averaged only 86.7 yards per contest in 2006, which ranked 109th out of the NCAA's 119 Division I-A teams.

A lot also will depend on Miami's offensive line. Two starters, junior tackle Charlie Norden and sophomore guard Matt McKeown, missed most of last season with injuries. Both are rehabbing and are being kept out of spring practice.

Other players being held out this spring include freshman wide receiver Dustin Woods, who is coming off shoulder surgery — "He's doing fine," Montgomery said — and sophomore middle linebacker Joey Hudson, who is coming off shoulder surgery and should be ready to practice in the summer.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.