George Stripling pulled one of the great disappearing acts of the 2006 University of Louisville football season.

The speedy running back was piling up yards and touchdowns early in the season, only to find himself trapped on the sidelines by the middle of fall. There was no great secret to Stripling's trick; he vanished because of a lack of hands.

"I guess I lost my confidence," the junior tailback said. "I lost a couple of fumbles, and it's hard to get back from that."

This season Stripling hopes to return to his freshman form, when he averaged nearly eight yards a carry and scored seven touchdowns as a change-of-pace option to Michael Bush. But it won't be easy. He entered fall camp fourth on the depth chart at perhaps the most crowded and fought-after position.

"There's a lot of competition," fellow running back Sergio Spencer said. "Everybody wants to be the guy. I think George is going to come along strong and help the team win a lot of games."

Stripling ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns in last season's opener against the University of Kentucky and looked to be one of the main backfield replacements when Michael Bush went down with a broken leg. He had two more touchdowns and 72 yards at Temple in Week 2, then memorably took a swing pass 39 yards for a score versus Miami.

But he fumbled on the U of L 20 in that game against the Hurricanes, beginning a troubling pattern. He coughed the ball up the following week at Kansas State and had another fumble in the first quarter against Cincinnati. Nothing will get a player into the coaches' doghouse quicker than turnovers, and Stripling would manage only 12 carries the next five games.

When he did get chances, Stripling looked hesitant, failing to hit the hole with his normal explosiveness.

"I started thinking too much," he said. "I would think 'Hold on to the ball or you won't be able to play.' "

Stripling, who fumbled only once in 79 carries as a freshman, said he called his family and old high school coach back in Jacksonville, Fla., to help get him through the tough times.

"George is real quiet, so sometimes people think he has an attitude problem," said Kevin Sullivan, who coached him at Andrew Jackson High School. "The coaches might have thought he wasn't working hard. I just told him to keep fighting, keep competing and get back to his game."

He rebounded with 63 yards on eight carries in the regular season finale against Connecticut but produced just one yard in the Orange Bowl. Stripling said he is looking forward to playing in the new offensive system under Steve Kragthorpe, who likes to use the running backs in the passing game.

"It's very exciting," Stripling said. "They throw to running backs and give us a chance to catch the ball out of the backfield. Instead of just running behind the line, we can get in the open field."

But the first task is getting into the game. Kragthorpe has a wealth of options, including: sophomore Anthony Allen, a 232-pounder who had 14 touchdowns as a true freshman; Brock Bolen, who has a fullback's body but the light feet of a scatback; and true freshmen Victor Anderson, Bilal Powell and Dale Martin, who are in reserve.

Kragthorpe said one or more of the freshmen may redshirt but would be available to play in case of injury.

"It would be more of a rose-colored shirt because they could be needed to play at any moment," Kragthorpe said.

Spencer came into the fall atop the depth chart after an impressive spring. He is the shiftiest of the backs but says he can do more than just juke people outside the hash marks.

"I run like I hate the ground," the junior from Male High School said. "I can run between the tackles, outside, whatever they need."

Kragthorpe said the running back situation will develop throughout the season, and perhaps a true No. 1 guy will emerge. But he also said he'd like to run the ball as many as 40-to-45 times a game, and that it's "unrealistic" to expect one back to carry such a workload week to week.

Michael Bush might have been that kind of workhorse halfback had he stayed healthy a year ago. But after his injury, the Cardinals found success with a group approach. Four different players had at least 290 yards rushing in 2006 as the team averaged 185 yards on the ground per game.

The ball likely will be spread around again this year. Stripling just hopes he gets it more often than he did last fall -- and that he can keep from making it disappear.

"I think George feels rejuvenated this year," Sullivan said.