Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk trying to turn Colorado running backs into 'complete players'

For the first time since receiving his gold jacket 14 years ago, Marshall Faulk wanted to be somewhere other than Canton, Ohio, on Hall of Fame weekend.

Six months into his first coaching job, Faulk wanted to be working with his guys in the Colorado running back room. That’s saying something for a self-described “football nut” who still soaks up knowledge from the great running backs who came before him.

“I didn’t want to go,” Faulk admitted Monday as the Buffaloes began Week 2 of preseason training camp. “I agreed to do this. We’re two days into camp, Coach (Prime) was like, ‘No, you gotta go. I cannot go; you have to go.’ It was the first time I had been there and wanted to be somewhere else.”

Still, Faulk enjoyed himself as he and his peers welcomed four players into the Hall of Fame.

“What a great time, man,” Faulk said. “To sit down next to Tory Dorsett and have a conversation with him... every year I pick out an older guy and I sit down and I ask them about their careers. I want to hear their highlights out of their mouths and to hear Larry Little talk about his days and the things he did and the guys he played against and the plays. You get to relive those moments.

"Their games aren’t YouTube-able. People can go look at my highlights. You don’t get to see that (for the older guys) and I give them a chance to tell me about it and really appreciate hearing their stories.”

While Faulk cares about the legends of the game, he also cares about the next generation. That's why — after years of saying, "No" — he finally said yes when one of his close friends, Deion Sanders, asked him this offseason to start his coaching career.

“You guys know him in a different way than I know him,” Faulk said. “We’ve been friends for many years. We worked together in television. We always talk just about the game and probably more about kids coming in the game and how you affect (them) and make sure they come into the game the right way. He’s one of those waymakers.

"When you pay attention to kids that are gonna leave this program and go to the next level, they’re gonna do it in a certain way and you’re gonna say, ‘Oh wow, they were coached by a guy who understands how to get it done.’ I identify with that.

“Coming here, not just to win games on the field, but to win the game off the field, which is to make sure that these young men — in life — become what they wanna become outside of football. That’s the important part. That was attractive.”

It starts with the on-field production, however.

Faulk inherited a running back room that ranked dead last in the nation in rushing yards per game in each of Sanders’ first two seasons in Boulder. But there’s no Shedeur Sanders or Travis Hunter around now. The Buffs know they must be a more balanced offense and that there will be times this fall where the running backs must be the focal point.

“They get a clean slate. What you did last year has nothing to do with this year because I’m going to coach you differently,” Faulk said. “One of the hardest things is to unlearn and that’s what we’re trying to do. (Expletive), you played with Travis and Shedeur, so they didn’t watch you as much. But we’re going to be counted on to where one of these guys or just the position on the whole could be the focus.”

That starts with turning the quartet at his disposal — returners Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch, as well as transfers DeKalon Taylor (Incarnate Word) and Simeon Price (Coastal Carolina) — into more complete players.

“I never looked at myself as a running back, I looked at myself as a football player,” Faulk said. “In this room, you’re best served as being a football player. If you decide that you want to make an NFL roster, guess what? You might have to tackle. You might have to play special teams. Running backs, if we’re only runners of the ball, well, then we may end up not making teams.

“Your best chance is understanding all facets of the game and knowing what the quarterback (does), understanding what the offensive linemen (are) doing. What’s expected of them is to understand how to talk about the game and that has to be taught.”

Faulk came from a different era of football and was one of the most dynamic players the position has ever seen. He once set the record for most yards from scrimmage in a single season and is one of four running backs to win NFL MVP this century. He also knows running backs come in all shapes and sizes and there’s not one archetype to being a great player at the position.

“The beauty of the running back (position) is if you look in the Hall of Fame or all over the league, we look different,” Faulk said. “I don’t look like Jerome Bettis, but we both got to where you want to get to, which is playing at a high level, doing the things that’s necessary and helping teams win football games. There’s not a (particular) skill set (I’m looking for); this is college. It’s my job to teach them how to get to where they want to go. I talk to them about their goals and dreams and what they wanna do and then I make sure that that fits into what we’re doing here as a team.”

For Faulk, that means getting all four players ready for when their number is called. They’ll all likely get a chance at some point this season.

“I think now the game has grown to where that position, having multiple guys gives you more depth at the position. And what I like about it is I have a responsibility to not just get one guy ready; I’ve got a responsibility to get every guy ready,” Faulk said. “I’ll tell you this: if we lose two guys, we’ll be good. Not in a sense that the talent and what they bring, we won't have that, but as far as the knowledge and the information and how to execute and what to do, we’ll be good. They all know (what it takes).”