Injuries test Missouri football team's depth at running back

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Forget about running back by committee. A rash of injuries in the backfield has left sophomore Henry Josey as the self-proclaimed "last man standing" at Missouri.

Josey was the third-string tailback until starter Kendial Lawrence broke his leg in practice last week. Senior De'Vion Moore sprained his ankle in the Tigers' 37-30 overtime loss at Arizona State. Both are out for at least several weeks.

Sophomore Marcus Murphy didn't make it out of preseason camp, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Josey, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound blur from Angleton, Texas, said he's ready for the added responsibility when Missouri (1-1) hosts Western Illinois (1-1) on Saturday night.

He ran for 94 yards on nine carries against Arizona State, including a 39-yard play that put Missouri in position to attempt a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. He also caught two passes for 51 yards. He was the team's second-leading rusher and voted its top freshman in 2010, with a career-best three touchdowns and 112 yards rushing against McNeese State.

"I'm kind of the last man standing, but I have two other guys behind me that are going to pick up the slack just like I did," Josey said.

Moving up the depth chart are former walk-on Jared Culver, a 5-11, 250-pound former high school cheerleader, and redshirt freshman Greg White, whom Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said wasn't ready to play just days ago.

So much for that luxury. Pinkel now is scouring his roster for able bodies, with a more-than-eager T.J. Moe ready for some snaps at running back in addition to his role as a starting receiver and punt returner.

"He does a lot of things anyway," Pinkel said. "Does about everything. So why not get some work with him?"

Pinkel called Josey, who also returns kicks, an "electrifying type of guy." Quarterback James Franklin, who carried the ball 27 times in his second career start against Arizona State, said his new first-string tailback is someone "who could take it for a touchdown every time he touches the ball."

Just don't call Josey undersized or a situational running back not rugged enough to carry the ball 20 times or more a game.

"I really like to prove people wrong," he said. "I can get in there and take on the big guys just like any other back can."

Sudden switches at running back are nothing new at Missouri.

In 2010, the Tigers lost co-captain Derrick Washington -- the team's leading rusher the previous two seasons -- when he was dismissed from the team days before its season opener following two arrests on sexual assault charges involving a Missouri tutor and an ex-girlfriend. Washington is scheduled to stand trial in the first of those two cases, a felony charge of deviate sexual assault, starting Tuesday.

Moore led the Tigers with 517 yards rushing and eight touchdowns in 2010, combining with Josey, Lawrence and Murphy for a total of 1,557 yards and 19 touchdowns. The three-headed approach worked, but Pinkel emphasized the need for a more established pecking order this season.

That still could occur, although Josey has the chance to show he deserves to be first among equals. Missouri travels to No. 1 Oklahoma after this weekend's game against its annual lower-division home opponent. The Tigers upset Oklahoma at home last year -- when the Sooners also were ranked atop the polls -- with Josey tallying 64 yards on 14 carries.