CCC Preview: Gilliam latest on long line of standout Merced running backs

For just about as long as anybody can remember, Merced High’s football team has usually featured a star in the backfield.

Ernest “Hooks” Devaurs, one of the greatest athletes in school history, led the Bears to the 1934 Valley championship. But ol’ Hooks was a quarterback.

The great line of running backs in Merced really started with Lloyd Winston, a 1957 graduate who played parts of two seasons (1962-63) with the 49ers. Jeff Eastman was the talk of the town in the late 70s. Eastman’s little brother, Marvin, was a standout in the mid-80s, playing his senior season for legendary coach Mark Speckman, under whom the Bears won back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championships and posted a 41-1 record over three seasons (1988-90).

It was during Speckman’s tenure that Merced first gained widespread acclaim as Running Back High School, a tradition that has continued under current head coach Rob Scheidt. And junior Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. is the next big thing at RBHS.

Just listen to the man who has coached a slew of 1,000-yard runners, including Wendell Mathis, the school’s all-time leading rusher who earned a scholarship to UCLA before eventually transferring to Fresno State.

“Wendell was the best all-around player I’ve ever coached,” said Scheidt. “But as far as his ability to stop and start, not to mention his hands, I think Ulonzo is better. He can be right there with Wendell by the time he graduates.”

High praise for the 5-foot-8, 175-pounder.

Now, he has to go out and get it done.

“That makes me want to get prepared to perform at a high level,” said Gilliam Jr., who has been clocked (stopwatch) in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds. “I know my team needs me; at practice I try to go hard and motivate the rest of my team.”

Taking on a leadership role will be one of the biggest differences for Gilliam Jr. this season.

“I know a lot of people look up to me since I was there last year,” said Gilliam Jr. “I’m one of the few returning starters. I know some of the incoming JV players look up to me.”

Gilliam Jr. took notes last year on how graduates Tyrone Williams, Jermon Cook and Central California Conference MVP Jabar Byrd conducted themselves.

“I picked up on a lot of stuff they did,” said Gilliam Jr. “How they motivated our team to win, how they carried our team. I’ll try to apply that to this year.”

Byrd, who rushed for 1,340 yards and 18 TDs during his senior campaign, got the bulk of the workload last year, as the Bears posted a 9-3 record and reached the second round of the Divsision I playoffs. Gilliam Jr. carried the ball just 63 times, but he made the most of those opportunities, averaging 9.8 yards per carry for 618 yards and eight touchdowns.

This season, as the Bears’ top option, he’ll get anywhere from 150 to 200 totes. And if he continues to average 10 yards a pop, he’ll be closing in on his goal, especially if the Bears can make a deep run into the postseason.

“That’s one of my goals, to rush for 2,000 yards,” said Gilliam Jr. “But I just want to make sure we do what it takes to win every game that we can. Bring out the best in my teammates; win our league again; go deep in the playoffs.”

Gilliam’s father, Ulonzo Sr., played basketball for the Bears under another Merced High legend, Vince Clemons, whose teams won four section crowns. His ’91 Bears were probably the least talented of his seven section finalists, but they nearly upset powerful Kennedy (Sacramento) before losing 54-50 at Arco Arena.

“My dad knows what I’m capable of,” said Gilliam Jr. “He works with me, trains with me, tries to motivate me. I look up to my dad. I listen to pretty much everything he says.”

Dad’s message for junior: Don’t worry about the competition, just worry about yourself.

“You always continue to raise your level if you continue to push yourself,” said Gilliam Sr. “You never know what you can do unless you push yourself.”

Work ethic is great, but it generally only takes athletes so far. Talent is what separates the good from the great, and Gilliam Sr. also sees greatness in his son.

“Without a doubt,” he said. “I tell him as much as I can, without overstating it. But I also tell him that if he didn’t play football, I’d still look at him the same way.”

Gilliam Jr. appreciates the pat on the back.

“It makes me feel good,” he said. “It motivates me even more to be one of the best running backs coming out of Merced High. I know there have been a lot of great ones, but it’s good to know I’m capable of being one of the best … or the best.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "CCC Preview: Gilliam latest on long line of standout Merced running backs."