Utah State offense powered by Turbin

Utah State's Robert Turbin loves to run.

And no matter whether it's by going around or over people, the Aggies' 5-foot-10, 220-pound running back will find a way to do it.

"I try to work to be able to do everything," Turbin said of his indiscriminate running style. "Not just physically - running people over or being able to go downhill - but also being elusive enough to be able to juke defenders and make people miss in open space."

And with 1,049 yards and 16 touchdowns already to his credit in nine games this season, Utah State's top offensive threat has had no problem finding available real estate.

Currently, Turbin is 17th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total yardage at running back and is tied with Fresno State's Robbie Rouse at the top of the WAC with 116.6 yards per game.

"Robert Turbin is a big, strong, physical kid who can break the long one," Aggies coach Gary Andersen said.

Case in point, Turbin's 80-yard touchdown dash against state rival BYU in October is the longest for the Aggies this season and his career-long of 96 yards set two years ago is a school record.

Not bad for a guy who was limited to nothing but rehab and light workouts for the entire 2010 season.

After becoming the Aggies' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2001 by rolling up 1,296 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2009, Turbin blew out his ACL during offseason conditioning drills and was forced to redshirt what would have been his junior year.

Unfortunately for the running back, watching from the sidelines while healing was nothing new considering that he had used a medical redshirt as a freshman for a separate foot issue.

As painful as it was to watch his teammates compete without him, Turbin was able to seek out a silver lining when things seemed darkest.

"I think that being able to sit out both of those years helped me mature as a man, number one, and it helped me appreciate everything that I have because you never know when it can be taken away from you," Turbin said.

Even though he wasn't able to play, the junior became a film-rat. He studied defenses, talked with his coaches one-on-one as often as possible and even wore a headset on the sidelines for most of the season in an effort to learn how his coaches thought and made adjustments over the course of a game.

Most importantly, Turbin's drive to return from a serious knee injury has taught him the benefits of "pre-hab" or pre-habilitation.

"I never knew there was such a thing as pre-hab, but I do a lot of those things now," Turbin said. "I do a much better job of taking care of my body, icing it two or three times a day, stretching two or three times a day."

So far, the extra work has paid off in spades.

The Aggies head into their matchup with Idaho in the Kibbie Dome on Saturday at 2 p.m. with not only the top rushing offense, but also as the top scoring team in the conference.

"You always work to be the best," Turbin said. "My goal is that every time I hit the field or work out, it's to work to be number one."

---

Warzocha may be contacted at twarzocha@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2260.