WASHINGTON — If Oklahoma has turned into “Running-Back-U,” then a school right down the road has turned into “Running-Back-HS.”

For the past half a decade, Washington has turned out some studs at the position. Last year, Tyler Simmons led the Warriors from the backfield, putting up impressive statistics. Simmons led Class A with 2,583 yards and 35 touchdowns on 280 carries.

Now Simmons is playing linebacker for Navy, but Washington hasn’t lost a step in the backfield. In fact, it may have gained one or two.

Josh Zimmer has vaulted into the limelight with a spectacular start. The junior who replaced Simmons has carried the ball 57 times for 533 yards and 16 touchdowns for the 3-1 Warriors.

He’s found the end zone six times in each of the last two games.

“He’s a great athlete, he’s got nice speed, he can carry the ball well and he’s a tough runner,” Washington coach Dennis McCray said. “But what I’m impressed most with about Josh is his vision. He sees the field extremely well. He anticipates where defenders are going to go.”

Zimmer gets at least some of his vision from playing defense.

Like Simmons, he’s a linebacker for Washington.

But his gaudy statistics on the offensive side overshadow his defensive abilities.

“Oh, I definitely feel like I enjoy running the ball more,” Zimmer said.

Most around the state didn’t know much about Zimmer coming into the season. And Simmons’ departure raised questions about just how effective Washington’s offense would be this year.

A week 1 loss at home to Bethany didn’t provide any answers.

Though quarterback Tyler Hancock threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, Zimmer never really got going. He finished with just 38 yards on 12 carries.

“I was real nervous that first game,” Zimmer said. “I was just jumpy, it being my first start at running back.”

But since struggling against Bethany, Zimmer has exploded.

And McCray knows his new offensive star didn’t just appear out of nowhere.

“We knew he was coming,” McCray said. “We knew he was a special athlete and he’d do a good job for us at the position.”

Zimmer started at linebacker and tight end as a sophomore. But the year before, he wasn’t even in Washington. After growing up in town, Zimmer’s parents moved to Norman his freshman year, where he dominated on Norman High’s freshman team.

Last year, the family moved back to Washington.

“He’s been a running back his whole life, and we wanted to get him in the game any way we could,” McCray said. “We had Simmons at running back, so we put Josh in at tight end. You could see it last year, how good he was. He had some great catches, that he made incredible runs after the catch for touchdowns.”

Although Zimmer likes the attention — he is, after all, the new stud football player in town — he’s quick to point out his success doesn’t belong to only him.

“I have to mention the offensive line,” Zimmer said. “Those guys do such a good job out there. They open up so many big holes for me.”

And as a past member of that offensive line, it’s important to Zimmer to spread the love a bit.

In fact, the big boys up front may be the biggest reason of all for Washington’s success at running back. The Warriors always seem to have the biggest athletes on the field at their linemen positions. McCray and assistant coach Emmitt Canfield coach the line, and it’s paid big dividends for the program.

“I think a lot of it has to do with just getting great and talented players,” McCray said. “That’s the big part. You get great athletes at those positions and they get a chance to shine.”

Whatever the reason, Zimmer is certainly enjoying his newfound success and celebrity.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I like it. But the most important thing is that we keep moving in the right direction as a team, keep winning games.”

The Warriors are at home against Maysville Friday night.

Jeff Johncox

366-3535

jjohncox@normantranscript.com