The SIU football team has been a run-first offense this season and utilized a combination of four running backs.

That was until senior Malcolm Agnew went down with an ankle injury Oct. 18 against Youngstown State.

Since then, the bulk of the running game has been placed on freshman Cameron Walter, junior Mika’il McCall and senior Ken Malcome.

Walter emerged as the go-to running back in Agnew’s absence in the Nov. 8 game against Missouri State. He rushed for 210 yards and was the first Saluki back to go for more than 200 yards in a game since Deji Karim in 2009.

“It’s all great,” he said. “It was my first career start, so that meant a lot. I didn’t go in thinking I would get over 200 yards, you just go in there and run hard.”

After the game, Walter was named the National Freshman of the Week by Sports Network, the MVC Freshman of the Week and was added to the CFPA Freshman of the Year Watch List.

“It’s awesome to see all the accolades that are coming from it,” he said. “It’s surreal, it’s a dream come true.”

His 210-yard performance was the fourth-best rushing game for any freshman in the country this season. Walter had 37 carries, which was sixth-best in the Football Championship Subdivision this season.

Walter said he did not have to alter his game when Agnew went out with injury because he had been practicing hard all year.

“You have to come into the season with the mentality that the spot is not closed, and always have the mentality to be able to come in [to the game],” he said. “I feel like we were all prepared to come in when Malcolm went out.”

Running backs coach Larry Warner said Walter’s success at Missouri State can be attributed to his confidence. He said Walter has a lot of potential and has not come close to reaching his ceiling of talent.

Agnew said he has seen a lot of improvement in Walter this year, especially his ability to take over the bulk of the rushing.

“Watching him last year on the scout team, I didn’t know if he would do a lot in this program,” he said. “But he worked his butt off to improve… I keep telling him that it’s his backfield now. He has stepped up and done the best he could.”

Before Agnew’s injury, Walter ran for 66 yards on 26 rushes for 2 touchdowns. In the three games without Agnew, Walter has run for 266 yards on 63 rushes and a touchdown.

Warner said he did not have to change the strategy once Agnew went out.

“Our game plan really didn’t change much,” he said. “I have confidence in all my backs to come in and make the same runs. That’s the way I prepare my guys so they can come in any week and be that guy. It’s the next-guy-up mentality.”

Warner said the backs have found a way to continue the rush-first mentality of the offense, even without Agnew.

The Salukis have 16 rushing touchdowns this season, 10 of which came from Agnew. There has only been one rushing touchdown since his injury, a 1-yard rush from Walter in the fourth quarter of a 41-26 loss to Indiana State on Oct. 25.

The trio of Walter, McCall and Malcome had 350 yards on 74 carries with 4 touchdowns before Agnew was hurt. Since the injury, they have rushed for 314 yards on 78 carries, but Walter makes up for the bulk of those yards.

McCall only has 25 yards on 7 rushes since Agnew was injured. He did not travel to Missouri State because of disciplinary issues. He did not have a carry against Northern Iowa the following week.

Malcome has 8 carries for 23 yards in the three-game span. He only had 1 carry for 1 yard in other games this season.

Agnew said the backs are doing well in his absence, but it is hard for him not to play.

“It’s been hard watching, standing on the sidelines not able to contribute on the football field at all,” he said.

Warner said the backs will not attack Saturday’s game against Illinois State any different after being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

“Every week we are trying to win,” he said. “We’re going to go out there and play like we’re fighting for the playoffs. This is one last game to send the seniors out right.”