CORVALLIS, Ore. - Ever since the season started, ASU head coach Dirk Koetter has faced countless questions about his team's inability to run the football.
Despite the Sun Devils' sloppy 45-17 loss at the hands of Oregon State on Saturday, it is possible that beneath the final score, Koetter may have provided himself an answer to those questions.
During the game, ASU sophomore tailback Hakim Hill emerged from a five-man roster to have the breakout game many fans wanted to see from a Sun Devil tailback. Hill rushed for career highs of 115 yards on 24 attempts, a 4.8-yard average. He also caught a team-high six passes for 92 yards, both of which were career highs.
"Hakim showed tonight what we all thought he had inside of him," Koetter said. "He did an excellent job."
Throughout the first two months of the season, the Sun Devils had yet to settle on a tailback. Senior Mike Williams began the year as the starter but was injured in the season opener against NAU. Then redshirt freshmen Loren Wade and Randy Hill shared a majority of the handoffs.
But after a 21-2 loss at Iowa last week, Koetter said he wanted to decide on one of the tailbacks and stick with him to get a majority of the team's carries. After long evaluations last week, Koetter said he would decide after Thursday's practice who the starter would be, but fans wouldn't know until game time.
Hill lined up in the backfield on the Sun Devils' first play of the game against the Beavers and never looked back as he gained 207 of the team's 381 yards.
ASU junior quarterback Andrew Walter praised Hill after the game as Walter found him on a number of long screen passes.
"[Hakim] is a guy that can get out in the open and make people miss," Walter said. "He's a load to bring down, and he's going to look for somebody to hit once he gets it."
But Hill shrugged off the individual performance.
"It's a team sport," Hill said. "It really doesn't matter what any individual does. The goal is to come out with a win at the end of the game."
Hill will likely start the rest of the season if he produces numbers like he did at OSU.
Hill began the season fifth on the depth chart after missing spring football due to what the team called a medical condition, although there was speculation he was absent for disciplinary reasons.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
