Three years of baby steps have Eric Brock anxious to take a giant leap.
"It would be nice to win eight or nine games : and we could," said Brock, now in his fourth year as football coach at Haskell Indian Nations University, "but I have to be as patient as a mountain."
Brock slowly has been climbing a mountain since taking over a team that finished with an 0-11 record in 2001. The Fightin' Indians won two games in Brock's first season, three in his second and four last year.
HINU earned those wins last season despite the loss of standout running back Chad Murphy to a knee injury in the opener and quarterback Kaleb Harris to a broken collarbone in the fourth game.
Harris, a sophomore from Claremore, Okla., is back and, says Brock, "He practiced in the spring and solidified his starting spot."
Unfortunately, however, Murphy will not play for the Indians this season - not because of his knee, but because of an off-the-field accident.
"His knee was doing fine, but he hurt a hand about a month ago," Brock said. "They say it's week to week whether he'll need more surgery, and it'll be at least six months before he could play again."
Haskell Indian Nations University football players work through drills during practice. The Fightin' Indians opened camp Monday at Haskell.
Two years ago as a freshman, the 5-foot-9, 210-pound Murphy led the Central States Football League in rushing with 970 yards and earned first-team All-CSFL honors in the process. No wonder then that Brock planned to build his offense around Murphy. Then Murphy went down, Harris was done three games later, and the offense struggled the rest of the way. HINU dropped its last four outings to finish 4-7.
"Hopefully," Brock said, "our bad luck is out of the way."
Brock does have his most talented player returning in Cory Murphy, Chad's younger brother. Cory Murphy was electrifying as a freshman last season - returning two punts and a kickoff for touchdowns. In addition, while playing cornerback, Murphy intercepted nine passes - one of the highest individual totals in the NAIA.
Murphy was HINU's lone first-team All-CSFL selection last season and he is ticketed this fall - much like Kansas University two-way standout Charles Gordon - for duty at wide receiver.
"He's good to go. He's in shape and he's put on seven or eight pounds," Brock said of Murphy. "We'll try to get the ball in his hands a little bit more. We can't wait for him to get interceptions."
Murphy would give the Indians a deep receiving threat to go with dependable Cody Wilson, one of only four seniors on the roster.
"Cody Wilson never gets a lot of recognition," Brock said, "but he's a go-to guy for us."
Kelvin Starks, a second-team All-CSFL pick last season, is HINU's top offensive lineman. He's a 6-1, 290-pound junior guard from Skiatook, Okla.
On defense, Brock uses a 3-3-5 alignment and all five of the defensive backs return in Murphy, Antonio Hayes, Terrill Denny, Chris Begay and senior Randy Jackson.
The likely starters at linebacker are senior Andrew Cole, soph John Sullivan and red-shirt freshman Sammy Johnson who, Brock noted, "had a great spring." Blaine Wise, a first-team All-CSFL pick in 2003, is the top returnee on the defensive line.
The Indians will open Sept. 3 at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, N.D.
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