Sept. 28, 2004

Charleston, SC - Citadel coach John Zernhelt had the idea even before he watched Ern Mills race 79 yards with a kickoff return against ninth-ranked Auburn last Saturday.

The idea -- get Mills the ball more often.

"We just want to get him on the field more, because he is a threat with the ball in his hands," Zernhelt said Monday at his weekly news conference.

Mills, a 5-11, 195-pound senior from Greer, is one of the few players on the Bulldogs' offense with proven big-play abilities. He was twice Southern Conference offensive player of the week last season, and busted a 90-yard touchdown run against Charleston Southern in the 2003 season opener.

But as the backup to senior tailback Nehe-miah Broughton, Mills has found his touches limited in the first two games this season. He's got seven carries and two pass receptions, for a total of just 23 yards, while Broughton has rushed 37 times for 158 yards in losses to Appalachian State and Auburn. As Zernhelt tries to spark a Citadel offense that is averaging just 8.5 points and 153 yards per game, one obvious way is to get more touches for Mills. He lined up more often at receiver against Auburn, though he had just one carry and one catch, and Zernhelt said Citadel fans will see more of that this week as the Bulldogs play a second straight Division I-A opponent, Duke, on Saturday in Durham, N.C.

"We're going to get him in some different positions, where he can be on the field at the same time as Broughton," Zernhelt said. "You saw some of that on Saturday, and that is our intent.

"If we line him up at receiver, in the slot or even as the second back in the backfield when we're in the shotgun, it puts us in position to get him the ball more often."

Mills, a running back in high school, was moved to receiver as a freshman but caught just one pass in 2001. He moved back to running back as a sophomore, and had his best season last year. As Broughton battled injuries throughout the season, Mills rushed for 619 yards and caught 17 passes for 100 yards.

He ran for 189 yards and two scores against Charleston Southern and had 137 yards and two touchdowns in a win over VMI.

With Mills and Broughton on the field together, freshman Montrell Lee will be Broughton's primary backup at running back. Lee, 5-8 and 182 pounds, saw his first action against Auburn and carried five times for 17 yards.

"We'll let Montrell Lee be the backup at running back, and we can always go back to Ern there if we need to," Zernhelt said. "But we need to get Ern on the field at the same time as Broughton, and get the ball in his hands a little more."

The Citadel is averaging just 61.5 passing yards per game, seventh in the eight-team Southern Conference, and is the only SoCon team without a TD pass. Senior starting quarterback Justin Hardin is 9 of 22 for 48 yards with one interception, while freshman backup Duran Lawson is 6 of 16 for 75 yards, including a 42-yard bomb to Gary Domanski against Auburn.

Zernhelt said the Bulldogs would continue to use both quarterbacks against Duke.

"We'll just try to get Duran in there more and more," Zernhelt said. "Justin has been doing a good job, but a couple of things have hurt us. We've gotten behind in both games, and we've had some inconsistency in the running game, through no fault of his. That has kind of put us behind the chains sometimes, and put him at a disadvantage.

"But when are moving the ball, like we did on our first drive against Auburn, he's done a good job. Our ability to function around him is the key to his success."

NOTES

-- Citadel players of the week: Offense -- TB Nehemiah Broughton (19 carries, 73 yards); Defense -- LB Shawn Grant (7 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack); Offensive difference-makers ñ RG Dusty Benefield, FB Porter Johnson; Defensive difference-maker -- CB Josh Lawson (2 tackles, 1 forced fumble).

-- Citadel men placed second and the women third at The Citadel Invitational cross-country meet last weekend. Nick Gastley in fifth paced the men, and Laura Hewston in sixth led the women ... The women's soccer team beat VMI, 3-2, and tied East Tennessee State, 2-2, narrowly missing its first SoCon win ... The volleyball team hosts College of Charleston at 7 tonight.