Air Force fullback Terrence Gist presents a throwback at the position as he moves piles and up the depth chart

One look at Terrence Gist and it is clear he represents something of a throwback for the Air Force fullback position.

Think more “full,” than “back.”

“He's a big powerful dude,” slot receiver Cade Harris said of the 6-foot, 220-pound bruising junior from South Carolina. “He’s not going to make too many people miss with shiftiness, but he’ll run over you.”

Gist’s emergence is something of a surprise at the position, both because he wasn’t on the radar of anyone outside the program prior to this season and because of the skill set that appears to go against the grain of where the evolution of the position was headed.

Since first sliding Jacobi Owens from tailback to fullback in 2015, Air Force has had a number of electric runners at the position. This group included Timmothy Jackson and then Brad Roberts, a high school sprinter who led the nation in rushing from the spot the Falcons now call “superback.”

Over the past five full seasons, Air Force’s leading fullback has averaged 1,174 yards.

Gist, who ran 13 times for 54 yards last week at New Mexico, would be a surprising pick to be next in that line, as he was primarily a linebacker in high school.

He was injured through last year, twice tearing his meniscus ligament, while Dylan Carson, also a junior, emerged as a weapon at the position with 493 yards behind starter Emmanuel Michel.

But now as Carson has battled injuries, Carson and Gist are listed as co-starters at the position.

“After I came back from injury, coach Calhoun saw that I could hit a little bit, run a little bit,” Gist said “It’s really just him trusting me, believing I can do my thing.”

One thing last year’s knee injuries didn’t prevent was work in weight room, particularly on his upper body under strength and conditioning coach Matt McGettigan.

“Coach Getty, he’s an awesome strength coach,” Gist said. “Even while I’m hurt I’m getting bigger.

“I got surgery and probably two days later I’m in there trying to get my leg better. Huge shoutout to that training team.”

Gist’s size and background as a high school linebacker recall past fullbacks like Shayne Davern (6-foot, 240, 1,311 yards, 16 touchdowns from 2014-16) and Cole Fagan (6-1, 230, 997 yards, seven touchdowns in 2018).

“He is bigger,” said Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, who also coaches the fullbacks. “He has good power. But he has good ball-carrying skills, too. I think there were times the other night where he hit pretty decisively, and because of it you’re gaining extra yards. Or maybe when there’s a bunch of bodies in there, the pile still moves a little bit, too.”

For Gist’s teammates, his emergence has not come as out of the blue as it has to those who hadn’t seen him play prior to this season. But the full skill set has still come as a pleasant surprise.

“Obviously we knew he was a good athlete, and he was a big, tough, strong runner,” Harris said of Gist. “It was just kind of like, alright, let’s see what he can do in a game. And I think we’ve kind of seen that now.”