SPOTLIGHT : Craig Hartley Occidental
- Share via
Football Running back
Senior 6-foot, 185 pounds
Craig Hartley, who hopes to become a podiatrist some day, used some fancy footwork to gain 228 yards in his debut at tailback Saturday for Occidental College.
A converted defensive back, Hartley carried 39 times, although he barely made it to the field. “I started off breathing so hard, I couldn’t catch my breath because I was so excited,” Hartley said. “I was gasping because I had gotten myself so worked up.”
The reaction was understandable. For three years Hartley has been a starter at defensive back. But when Brian Madlangbayan--who was filling in for starting tailback Gary Little--went out with a sprained neck, Hartley was called in against La Verne, which Occidental defeated, 38-27.
Hartley, a history major who plans to follow his father into podiatry, got word he would be starting at tailback only three days before the game. He had been a part-time running back at McCullough High in Woodlands, Tex., located an hour north of Houston in the heart of oil country.
In Woodlands, Occidental is the name of a petroleum company, not a college. Whatever, Hartley proved to be a slippery fellow against La Verne.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
