Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly is an even-keeled guy. But his calm demeanor revealed just a hint of excitement when asked about Hoyas freshman running back Charlie Houghton.
Kelly compared him to Colgate sophomore Jordan Scott, a Hyattsville native and DeMatha High grad who was recruited by Georgetown and this season leads the Patriot League with 1,050 rushing yards.
“When you see Charlie play, in my opinion, he’s a better back,” said Kelly.
Entering the final game of a difficult first season at the helm, Houghton is a bright spot Kelly can focus on when he enters the recruiting season.
Houghton wasn’t even in the Hoyas starting offense until four weeks ago. After playing on special teams most of the season, he had a breakout performance against Charleston Southern, racking up 171 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
In the last three weeks, Houghton has earned three straight league rookie of the week awards, amassing 388 yards on 53 carries and catching 10 passes for 156 yards, including three touchdown receptions. He broke a short pass for an 84-yard score last week against Lafayette.
“We saw the ability in preseason, it’s just that when you come in as a freshman, there’s a lot of things that go on,” said Kelly.
Houghton’s has the requisite speed and balance. But the discipline required by the college game caught him by surprise.
“From the beginning of the season, I really wasn’t ready. I needed to learn the offense and just the game speed and everything,” said Houghton, a Toronto native. “[In high school] you could sometimes just make things up on the fly. If you wanted to run outside, you could run outside, but [in college] you gotta really stay straight and run up the holes.”
The punishment of the college game is also taking its toll — Houghton said he’s been walking around the locker room gingerly and licking his wounds after games — but with an offseason goal of packing on pounds and muscle, Kelly said he’ll be even better next spring.
Houghton can’t wait.
“I think we’re starting to see what our offense can do and guys are rallying around that,” said Houghton. “It helps a lot, and for next season, it’s going to be good momentum.”
Georgetown (2-8, 0-5) at Fordham (2-8, 0-5)
» When: 1 p.m. Saturday
» Where: Jack Coffey Field, Bronx, N.Y.
