As a sweat-drenched Ademola Adeniji passed through the hallways at O’Brien Stadium, he heard his teammates laughing and giving him a hard time.

“You aren’t gonna have anything left for practice!”

The Springfield native spends hours in the weight room every week preparing for the pounding he will undoubtedly take in the upcoming game.

“(Ademola)’s a very strong young man,” head coach Bob Spoo said. “He’s one of our better weight lifters in the strength room. He’s helped himself by getting stronger.

Running backs are going to take punishment. Unless they can keep up with the (physical) part of (football), they’re going to suffer some injuries.”

The senior running back’s work ethic has paid off over the last few weeks as injuries have thrust Adeniji into a feature role for the Panthers.

“He’s come through for us,” Spoo said. “He was probably our number three going into the season and that’s what happens at that position because they’re so vulnerable to getting hurt. The next guy in line has to be ready.”

Spoo said losing the other running backs was not ideal, but he knows he has to have a backup plan. He said he expects his players to be ready to step up.

Spoo said he admires the way Adeniji has approached and embraced his promotion.

“He’s done that in a very dramatic, very productive way,” Spoo said. “He never lost confidence in himself. He’s worked hard.”

Two weeks ago, Adeniji ran for a career-high 197 yards and three touchdowns in a win against Murray State. Last week in the Panthers homecoming victory over Tennessee-Martin, the senior collected 81 yards and one touchdown.

“(In the Murray State game), I was really just focused on trying not to be complacent,” Adeniji said. “(Special teams) Coach (Justin) Lustig tells us there’s always something we could be (doing) better. Don’t be satisfied with what you do. You know, week in and week out, there’s always a higher pedestal to (reach).”

Adeniji does not want all the credit for his past performances this season. He said he is appreciative of the offensive line that helped him get the job done.

“My offensive line did one heck of a job against Murray State, because they were tough,” Adeniji said. “I knew going into the game that they would be keying in on the run and so I basically just used my offensive line and just tried to run as hard as I can. It’s so hard to win on the road. You have to score enough points and I was just fortunate enough to have a good game.”

Adeniji talked about the team’s injuries and how quickly opportunities present themselves.

“Over the course of a game, you never know what can happen. You know, one week you’re full with three or four running backs,” he said. “(Running backs) Travorus (Bess) and Ron (Jordan) aren’t as big as me, but they run pretty hard. Those boys take some licks out there and fortunately, you know, I was the lone back that was left and I just gotta carry the load and do what I can for my team.”

Adeniji knows his teammates are working hard at recovering to come back, but he will take whatever role and responsibility needed from him.

“With Travorus and Ronnie being injured, they’re trying to work themselves back into the week,” he said. “I have to carry the load for them. I’m just trying to run hard, make my reads, and get into the end zone.”

Spoo talked about Adeniji’s toughness on the football field.

“Some guys talk the talk but don’t walk the walk,” he said. “Ademola walks the walk. He practices how he plays and works hard. He relishes contact. He gets excited about that. That’s what motivates him, I believe, is the physical (aspect) of the game.”

Spoo said he was impressed by some of Adeniji’s runs on the field.

“Some of his runs are really remarkable,” he said. “As many times as he gets hit and is able to maintain his balance, which is one of his great assets, his balance. Without that strength, he would have gone down a lot quicker on some of those runs where he ended up getting extra yardage. They better gang tackle him or he’s going to make yardage.he’s going to break some.”

Run Coordinator Jeff Hoover echoed many of Spoo’s sentiments.

“Ademola’s been kind of a pleasant surprise,” Hoover said. “Everybody knew that he worked hard and given the opportunity that he’d do well, but I don’t think anybody’s expected what he’s done. He’s one of the hardest working guys we have and it’s nice to see him have some success. He’s exceeded everybody’s expectations.”

Adeniji has made the most of his opportunities and has earned the respect of his teammates as well as his coaches.

For now, he is Eastern’s starting running back, but next week may be a different story.

One thing is certain, he will embrace whatever role is given to him with hard work and toughness.

“He’s stepped up for us,” Spoo said. “And that’s all we can ask.”

Senior running back Ademola Adeniji leads the Panthers in rushing this season so far. Adeniji accounts for 695 of the 1,470 rushing yards the Panther’s have accumulated this season.

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