Goebel eager to be part of the offense again
Posted by BKoch at 10/13/2009 3:25 PM EDT on Cincinnati.com

Nearly halfway into the season, junior running back John Goebel has yet to carry the ball for the UC Bearcats.

Goebel, who rushed for 607 yards last season, pulled a hamstring on the first day of practice and has only now reached the point where he can play on offense after playing on special teams two weeks ago at Miami.

“It’s been kind of frustrating for me this whole year just sitting back,” Goebel said. “It’s great watching how well our team is doing but it’s hard for me not being out there. I love being out there. I’m running with the twos, but, man, I just want to play football. You get so hungry just watching. You just want to play.”

While Goebel was sidelined, Jacob Ramsey and sophomore Isaiah Pead emerged as the top two backs on an offense that doesn’t run the ball very much. That leaves very few carries for Goebel, who’s now the third option. But UC coach Brian Kelly said he plans to find a way to use Goebel.

“John has looked good this week,” Kelly said. “He’s got that explosiveness that he had been lacking. We think he’s good to go. We’ll get him in a lot of special teams. There will be some situations where we get him in the game as well.

“Any time you’ve got three players at the position that can help you it’s not easy but we’ve got to find a way to get him involved in some fashion. He can help us win. Now he may not like his role compared to what it’s been but he can help us win. We want to do what he does well. He’s a guy who’s pretty good on the perimeter. He catches the ball very, very well and he’s a big physical guy, so I think there’s a place we’ll have to find for him in our offense.”

At this point, Goebel will take what he can get.

“Right now I’m just trying to get on all the special teams I can get on,” Goebel said. “Our offense is doing so well. I just have to be ready in case they need me. I have to make sure that I get all the rust knocked off me. I’ve only had one practice under my belt until the past two weeks, so I’m trying to get better every single day, just getting my nose back in the game. I’m not sure how many reps I’ll be able to get. I’ve just got to be ready.”

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I'm eager to see what Goebel can do. It has been hard just waiting to see him play all year (alright, being 5-0 doesn't make it too hard), but it'll be nice to see him tearing up South Florida in back to back seasons.

Hungry cats kill a bull this weekend!