On a rainy Saturday afternoon, Sept. 29, 2012, Wofford College senior fullback Eric Breitenstein ran with the football. Then he ran again. And again. And again.
By the time Wofford defeated Elon University 49-28, Breitenstein had racked up 321 rushing yards, a Southern Conference single-game record. His first touch of the game was a 90-yard touchdown run, the first of two scores on the day for Breitenstein.
That game was part of a senior season in which Breitenstein rushed for a whopping 2,045 yards in 13 games, an average of 157 yards per game. By contrast, no NFL player has rushed for more than 2,066 in a 16-game season.
The 5-foot-9, 230-pound fullback helped lead Wofford, a tiny school of around 1,600 undergraduates, to national relevance. In Breitenstein’s four seasons for the Terriers, Wofford made the NCAA Div. I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs each year. The Terriers claimed playoff wins in 2010 and 2012 over Jacksonville State University and the University of New Hampshire, respectively.
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Like all other college athletes, Breitenstein’s time as a Terrier ended following his four years of eligibility. He earned an invitation to Carolina Panthers rookie camp in May to attempt to continue his football career. (Intriguingly enough, the Panthers hold their training camp on Wofford’s campus.) But Breitenstein was cut and hung up the pads for good. According to goupstate.com, he co-operates a waste removal company known as Junk Matters. Breitenstein’s career path is fitting because of the way he trashed Elon’s defense a year ago.
But even without him, Wofford’s triple-option running game lives on. Senior Donovan Johnson is now the starting fullback for Wofford, and has rushed for 606 yards in five games. Sophomore halfbacks Will Gay and Ray Smith also have run for more than 100 yards this season. The Terriers sit at 3-2 on the campaign, and at 2-0 in conference are in good position to make another playoff run by winning a SoCon title.
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As conference realignment has reshaped FCS football, Wofford is a team that has been forced to sit tight. Due to its small enrollment and relatively short (since 1997) history in Division I, Wofford has not been considered for Football Bowl Subdivision membership, even with its on-field success. One of the major reasons for that success is gone, and like many other athletes at the FCS level, has only memories left from an illustrious career.