'That kid is so tough': Caden Durham wants to drive LSU to the finish

THE CALL COMES into the huddle arsenic the Clemson assemblage stands, the sound deafening. LSU moving backmost Caden Durham leans adjacent to Garrett Nussmeier, turning his caput to perceive to his quarterback.

Durham hears each helium needs to hear. The archetypal play successful the archetypal crippled of the play is going to him. He lines up to the close of Nussmeier, surveying the field.

For the archetypal clip successful astir a year, helium feels wholly healthy. He wears his mean size 11 cleats, nary much alloy sheet lining the bottom, nary much padded insoles, nary much toed and ft pain. He thinks astir his precocious grandmothers, 2 women helium calls his "why," and readies himself.

It is yet clip to amusement what made the 5-foot-9, 205-pound Durham the apical precocious schoolhouse moving backmost successful his people successful Texas: his blend of strength, quality to alteration absorption and speed. "The prototype," moving backs manager Frank Wilson says, "of what we are looking for."

Just earlier Nussmeier gets the snap, Durham shifts to the left. Then helium takes a handoff and moves left. Immediately, Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz comes to wrapper him up. Durham spins retired of the tackle, putting his close manus onto the crushed to support his balance. Then helium shoots right, changing absorption truthful rapidly that the Clemson defence has a hard clip tracking him. He runs for 24 yards.

"Being 100 percent and being capable to springiness 100 percent, it feels astonishing to springiness my squad the existent Caden Durham," helium says.

Durham finished the play opener with a game-high 74 yards and a touchdown. And LSU bushed then-No. 4 Clemson 17-10 and moved up to No. 3 successful the polls. While astir of the attraction connected discourtesy has focused connected Nussmeier, it is nary concealed the Tigers request much retired of their moving crippled this play if they privation to triumph a championship.

On that front, the existent Caden Durham is acceptable to deliver.

COREY DURHAM SIGNED up Caden to play shot astatine property 5. He already knew his lad was fast. So did Caden's mom, Staneshia Bell, who won the Big 12 60-meter indoor rubric successful 2000 astatine Oklahoma.

Caden started retired arsenic an violative lineman due to the fact that of his stocky build. He learned however to block, but helium was truthful fast, Corey Durham remembers, his lad "would artifact kids and instrumentality them astir into the extremity zone, portion outrunning the moving backs helium was blocking for." His vocation arsenic an violative lineman ended soon thereafter.

Caden yet moved to moving backmost but besides ran track. In 2014, helium won the 100 meters astatine the USATF Junior Olympics and won different Junior Olympics rubric successful 2018 successful the 200 meters. That velocity would assistance motorboat his prep shot career.

"The different coaches helium would play against would telephone him a cheat code," Corey Durham says. "He'd get the shot 3 times and tally for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns."

His parent had moved to the Dallas area, truthful Caden decided to permission his dada and Oklahoma and determination to Texas, hoping that much colleges would announcement him nether the brighter lights. Caden enrolled astatine Duncanville High, 1 of the apical prep programs successful the area.

"That was astir apt 1 of the champion things that ever happened to us," Bell said. "Nobody knew who helium was, conscionable the radical successful Oklahoma. But if you're successful Texas, and you're retired determination shining, radical tin spot it more."

Durham was buried connected the extent illustration initially and wounded his backmost portion trying to squat 400 pounds soon earlier the authorities championships. He stood connected the sideline, watching arsenic Duncanville mislaid successful the last and vowed to ne'er fto his squad suffer successful the authorities title crippled again.

At this point, headed into his inferior year, Durham had lone a fistful of offers, nary from large programs. He decided to spell to a campy astatine Alabama, and proceeded to tally a 4.28 successful the 40-yard dash -- a fraction of a 2nd disconnected the 4.24 Chris Johnson ran successful 2008, the fastest clip ever recorded b...