For more than two months, Rodney Hammond played the waiting game.
After serving as the top backup to Israel Abanikanda’s record-breaking performance last season, Hammond seemed like the lead candidate to be the top back in 2023. That’s how the coaches talked about him in training camp, and it’s how they listed him on the season-opening depth chart.
But in the season opener against Wofford, he was fourth on the team in rushing attempts; his five carries were tied with freshman Montravius Lloyd and trailed Daniel Carter, C’Bo Flemister and quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
No matter, though; that was only Wofford. No sense wearing down the workhorse against an FCS opponent. But in Week Two, Pitt hosted Cincinnati and Hammond saw six carries - the same number as Flemister and Carter.
In Weeks Three and Four - losses to West Virginia and North Carolina - Hammond seemed to finally take his position as the No. 1, leading the team in carries in each game despite only recording 14 rushing attempts (not exactly the kind of workload a No. 1 back would expect).
But Hammond took a backseat to Flemister over the next three games, bottoming out with just three carries in the loss at Wake Forest.
Hammond did record the most rushing attempts on the team in the losses to Florida State and Syracuse, but even in those games - neither of which was really a blowout for a majority of the game - he only had 13 and 12 carries, respectively.
So when he broke out for 145 yards and a touchdown in the home finale against Boston College last Thursday, it was a sigh of relief for Hammond.
“After a season like this, I definitely needed a night like this. Boost the team up - I like to bring energy to the offense, and we’re going to end the season well.”
Hammond was the spark for Pitt’s offense against the Eagles last week. He didn’t start the game or play a single snap in the first quarter, yielding that work to Flemister. But when he finally got in the game, he converted a fourth down and helped set up Pitt’s first touchdown. Then he helped dig the Panthers out of a hole with a 40-yard run on second-and-10 from the Pitt 2. And in the fourth quarter, he put the dagger in Boston College when he took a handoff on second-and-1 from the Pitt 34, broke and skipped through several would-be tackles and got off to the races for a 66-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers ahead 24-16.
“I knew the game was tight. I had to make a play. So as you see, I was trying to make a play every time I touched the ball, and I just knew I had to make a play. And I knew there wasn’t nobody catching me.”
That long run put Hammond over 100 rushing yards on the day, giving him the third 100-yard rushing performance of his career (he’s has topped 100 yards once in each of his three seasons of college football). But the volume of carries is what stands out the most:
Hammond has carried the ball 15 times or more in eight games over the last three seasons. In those eight games, he has carried a total of 735 yards and 11 touchdowns on 147 attempts. That’s an average of exactly five yards per carry.
“If I get an opportunity, I’m going to make something of it,” Hammond said Thursday night. “I got an opportunity tonight, so I made something of it.”
Both of Hammond’s previous 100-yard games came with 15 carries or more - his 17/100/3 performance against New Hampshire in 2021 and his 28/124/1 against Syracuse last year - and the last time he received 15+ carries prior to last Thursday was the Sun Bowl win over UCLA, when he carried the ball 25 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
“As a running back, once you get those carries and you get those good yards, when you get hot, there ain’t no stopping you. It does’t matter who you are. Like I say, my offensive line, I trust in them. If they get me hot, I’m going to keep me and them hot. We’re straight.”
Perhaps the most remarkable note about Hammond’s game with 15+ carries is that Pitt is 8-0 in those games. There were certainly big games among those eight, like the Virginia game in 2021 when Hammond rushed 15 times for 66 yards and a touchdown to help the Panthers clinch the Coastal Division or the aforementioned Sun Bowl.
But Thursday night’s win over Boston College ranks high on the list. Pitt was mired in a four-game losing streak - the Panthers’ second four-game losing streak of the season - and needed something positive as the end of the season approaches.
For Pitt, 2023 has been a season to forget, and that’s doubly true for Hammond. This was supposed to be the year when he replaced Abanikanda and played himself into an NFL Draft prospect. But that didn’t happen. Hammond has carried the ball 106 times for 526 yards and four touchdowns through 11 games, and while those numbers are good enough to make him Pitt’s leader in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, they’re not enough to boost his pro profile as much as he was likely hoping heading into the season.
To Hammond, though, 2024 is an opportunity to rebound from 2023 - for him and for the team.
“I feel like this year is a learning experience,” Hammond said Thursday night. “You can’t always - I mean, I don’t know how to put this, but you can’t always expect the highest level. There’s going to be ups and downs. There’s always ups and downs. This was a down year and next year is going to be the up year, so we’re staying focused. We’re ready to come back next year and handle business. We’re good.”
