Offensive coordinator Stan Parrish calls Dante Love the "Love Boat." A more appropriate nickname might be "Playmaker."
Love made a strong case for establishing himself as the go-to-guy Thursday, scoring two second-half touchdowns and playing a big role in Ball State University's 38-20 victory last Thursday.
Love's 31-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter was a run to remember.
After Love took the reverse, he sprinted to the wide side of the field, beat an Eagle defender to the sideline and turned upfield. Ten yards later, Love juked two more defenders and cut back toward the middle of the field before landing in the end zone and ending any Eastern Michigan hope of making a comeback.
"The coaches, they think I'm consistent," Love said. "Every time when they need a big play, they can count on me catching the ball. Or if it's 4th-and-1, [the coaches] got trust in me that I can get the two yards."
When Love was playing quarterback at Withrow High School in Cincinnati, Parrish saw him as someone who could play multiple roles in the offense. Someone like the Washington Redskins' Antwan Randle El, who won a Super Bowl ring last year playing for Pittsburgh.
Ever since Randle El has played in the NFL, he's been used as a quarterback, running back and wide receiver in the Steelers' offense. Parrish said the versatility Love shows on the field gives the Cardinal offense multiple options.
"I think the guys all know when Dante touches the ball, it has a chance to go and everybody plays extra hard and blocks extra hard," he said. "Dante has a big role [in the offense]. It's very taxing. Everyday he has multiple things to do."
Each practice, Love sees action with the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. It's all part of a day's work, though. Parrish said there's a package in the playbook specifically designed for the talents of Love.
Love said his favorite position, though, is quarterback.
"It brings me back to my high school days," he said. "I just feel if I'm in control of the team when I'm calling the play, I just get everybody's attention, and I like that."
The play that will stand out the most from Thursday's game was the flea-flicker that gave Ball State a 14-10 lead.
The direct snap went to Love, lined up at running back next to Nate Davis. Love then took off to the right side of the field, getting just beyond the hash marks. He turned left and fired a lateral all the way across field to Davis. Davis then threw the ball 46 yards down field, hitting Louis Johnson in stride for a touchdown. If the play looked familiar, the Pittsburgh Steelers ran it in last year's Super Bowl.
The person lined up at running back for the Steelers where Love was Thursday night: Randle El.
"We were thinking about telling coach [Parrish] to just scratch it because it's not going to work," Love said. "But coach [Parrish], he kept the play in. I'm surprised he even called it in the game. I was kind of thinking, 'It'll never work.' I was nervous."
Parrish said he had faith in the play because of the Love's involvement.-รก
"You try to put the ball in the hands of your best guys during the game and so far he's one of our best guys," he said. "I think Dante's going to turn into maybe the most versatile player in this whole league."
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