BLOOMINGTON – Darius Willis took the handoff from quarterback Ben Chappell and followed his blocker, Will Matte, to a hole on the left side.

The Indiana running back blasted by Michigan cornerback J.T. Floyd at the Hoosiers’ 30 and then outran three Wolverines defenders down the sideline. Donovan Warren joined the group and made a last-ditch diving effort to try to bring Willis down at Michigan’s 12, but Willis skipped away and went into the end zone for an 85-yard touchdown.

It was the signature play of a breakout game for Willis. He rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in the Sept. 26 road game. The 85-yard scamper – the third-longest rush in school history – put the Hoosiers ahead by four points with less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

“It was a big confidence builder,” Willis said of the game, which IU lost 36-33. “The guys trusted me, and Coach called my number. I just wanted to help my team out as much as I can.”

Willis had the best season for an IU freshman running back since 2003. Injuries were the only thing that slowed him down.

A healthy Willis is essential to a successful season, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Towson.

“He’s a really good player, and he’s really worked hard. He can run it. He can pass-block, and he’s capable of catching it out of the backfield. He’s what you’re looking for in a back,” IU coach Bill Lynch said.

“Knock on wood, we have to keep him healthy because he has a history of it. When he can go, we’re different on offense when he’s in there. It showed up last year as well.”

Willis appeared in nine games and was hampered by an ankle injury throughout the year.

“It was very, very frustrating,” Willis said. “I don’t remember one game in which I played at 100 percent. It was frustrating, and I’m going to move on from that and just go out and make sure I play all four quarters and do what I can do to stay healthy this year.”

Willis still led the Hoosiers with 607 rushing yards, the most for an IU freshman since BenJarvus Green-Ellis finished with 938 yards in 2003. Willis became the first freshman since Green-Ellis to lead IU in rushing. Willis averaged 4.9 yards per carry and had six touchdowns.

“You can’t take any plays off,” Willis said. “You have to be ready and read the keys of the defense. They are going to throw tricks at you. Just being alert from last year is going to help me this year.”

He also said there is plenty of support as the Hoosiers’ running game looks to improve upon its 117.1 yards-per-game average of a year ago.

“The offensive line has more depth this year. With those guys being able to do their job, it helps us a lot more running the ball. We’ll have the lanes,” Willis said. “With the wide receivers, it’s going to be hard for teams to key on us running backs because we have so many talented receivers out there. That’s going to open up our offense a lot more.”

lpope@jg.net