Blair Lowery joins depleted running game after playing receiver for most of career
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was telling local reporters about how he might close practice because the passing offense was “pretty sorry throwing and catching” when he diverged from the subject because a player leaving the practice fields caught his eye.
“There’s a kid that’s doing well — Blair Lowery,” Spurrier said. “He was a walk-on receiver and now we’ve got him in there at tailback. He hits it hard and fast. He’s giving Kenny (Miles) and Brandon (Wilds) a little spell every now and then.”
Lowery, an Irmo native who is in his senior season, isn’t the only tailback that has impressed, and while the passing offense has been the subject of many rants at the end of spring practice, the running game has garnered praise.
Though Spurrier has been pleased with the rushing attack in the spring, he’s hesitant to rely on it as much as USC did last season. Part of the reason could be how thin the tailbacks are right now, as Marcus Lattimore is out until fall with a torn ACL, as is Shon Carson. Dwayne Duckett suffered a sprained ankle in spring practice, which left primarily just Wilds and Miles.
“We can’t run the ball 50 times and throw 17 like we did last year, I don’t think,” Spurrier said. “Maybe can — I don’t know. Maybe we can beat some teams 14-3 or 14-10. That might be our best formula right there, but hopefully we can pitch around.”
After Duckett’s injury, Lowery was moved to tailback, where he hasn’t played since high school. For Lowery, it’s “just playing football,” though his high school coach, Bill Kimrey, said that he played some running back at Dutch Fork High School, though there were some sets where he would go out at running back and then come into running back.
“The ball skills stay the same, but as far as what your assignments are, it’s different because you’re in traffic now compared to being in the open field,” Kimrey said. “You have to block and do those things, but it happens a lot faster when you’re in traffic than when you’re in the open field. It’ll be an adjustment for him, but he’s a good athlete, so he can make it.”
Kimrey specifically praised Lowery for his attention to detail. He said his speed was good but not outstanding, but he made up for it with the careful and precise routes he ran as a receiver. Lowery had offers from Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman and The Citadel out of high school but opted to go to Midlands Technical College in Columbia.
“He had some chances to go off to school, but he told me, ‘Coach, I’m just going to stay here local,’ so I respected that,” Kimrey said.
Kimrey understands firsthand, as his son, Erik Kimrey, who is now the football coach at the Hammond School in Columbia, had some opportunities to go play for a smaller school but opted to walk on at USC, just as Lowery did.
Last season, Lowery saw limited action on special teams, playing in five games, including the Capital One Bowl win over Nebraska. Lowery said he wasn’t expecting to be moved to running back, but is willing to do anything to help the team, as “it wasn’t that hard.”
“As a wide receiver, you’re doing a lot of things without the ball,” Lowery said. “At running back, you have the ball more. That’s the biggest difference. When you have the ball, everybody’s chasing you.”
Though Spurrier said that Lattimore’s rehab has progressed well and that he’ll return “as good as ever,” tailbacks were in demand last season after Lattimore’s injury. Miles was still out with a wrist injury, which opened the door for Blythewood-native Wilds. Behind Wilds was walk-on Josh Hinch, so Lowery could see an opportunity in 2012 should the tailback position become injury-prone again.
For the local boy playing for the hometown team, he’s just enjoying the experience and finding the field anyway he can.
“I guess it is pretty cool,” Lowery said. “I grew up here, so it’s cool playing for the hometown. Anywhere I play, I’m going to play hard. And I’m going to have fun doing it.”