With the departure of leading rusher Alex Collins to the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, the Arkansas Razorbacks begin their uphill slog to replace a man who, in 2015, churned out the best-ever season for a Hogs running back not named Darren McFadden.

Collins’ 20 touchdowns on the ground were a single-season program record, while his 1,577 yards rank third-most for an Arkansas back in one campaign. The aforementioned McFadden owns the top two spots.

The likes of Collins and McFadden point to a robust history of strong running backs in Arkansas. That’s particularly true of the Bret Bielema era, which has produced four 1,000-yard rushers in three seasons. Now, the new guard of tailbacks are set to line up behind the offensive guards and tackles in the Hogs’ backfield. However, whether they can match Collins’ output remains to be seen.

It’s not apparent yet who will get the nod at starting running back in Week 1 when Arkansas plays host to Louisiana Tech. What we do know is that the decision will likely come down to Kody Walker, Rawleigh Williams III and/or Devwah Whaley.

RELATED: Better/Worse in 2016: Arkansas running game

Walker is the elder statesman of the group. The NCAA granted the sixth-year senior another year after medical redshirts in his first two seasons on The Hill. Walker is injury-prone but finished second on the team in rushing last year with 394 yards and 6 TDs.

Williams III was on pace for roughly 475 yards before a neck injury ended his freshman campaign after seven games — decent stats for a guy who started the year fourth on the depth chart. The sophomore could be the surprise of the group, although it wouldn’t come as much of a shock to his head coach, who firmly believes in both his potential starters.

“From the outside world looking in, there is always going to be concern when you lose players of that caliber, but I have no concerns,” Bielema said via the Times Free Press about the loss of starting running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams. “Rawleigh Williams is a very versatile player, and before he was injured last year, he was well on his way to being a 1,000-yard rusher. Kody Walker is in his sixth year and has lost 15 pounds, and he looked incredible in the first 12 practices, so he could easily be a 1,000-yard rusher as well.”

Whaley, who enrolled in classes on May 31, could be the best of the bunch. The No. 15 overall player out of Texas was rated as the third-best running back in the Class of 2016, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He’ll get every opportunity as a freshman to step into a starting role and showcase the skills that made him a four-star recruit.

“Devwah Whaley, in my opinion, is one of the most successful and impressive running backs I’ve ever signed in my career,” Bielema said via the same Times Free Press article. “I think he could be special this upcoming season. Like I said, I’m not overly concerned.”

But before we coronate the new triumvirate of running backs, whose surnames begin with the letter “W,” with a catchy nickname (“Triple-Dub” or “W-III” or “WWW.runhogs,” perhaps?), let’s first take a look at how all three Arkansas backs can equal Collins’ numbers from last season, so there’s not a drop-off at the position.

HOW ARKANSAS CAN MAKE UP FOR COLLINS’ PRODUCTION

YARDAGE
Matching Collins’ 1,577 yards is going to be tough but not impossible with a running-back-by-committee approach. With three backs splitting time, each player has to accrue basically about 500 yards on the ground on the year.

Collins set his mark by averaging 20.9 carries per contest. Broken down three ways, that essentially works out to a convenient seven carries per game for Walker, Whaley and Williams III, which is certainly doable. Walker (10.0 carries per game) and Williams III (8.0) earned that many touches in nine and seven games, respectively, in back-up roles during the 2015 season.

The biggest challenge will be matching Collins’ 5.82 yards per carry, which ranked him fifth in the SEC. Walker (4.4 YPC) and Williams (4.5 YPC) could see those numbers rise with regular action. The trio also needs to collectively compensate for Collins’ 121.3 yards per game. Walker and Williams combined to rush for about 80 yards per game last year. If they stay relatively the same, it’d be up to Whaley to account for about 40 yards per contest to meet Collins’ numbers.

If just one of the three starters lives up to Bielema’s expectations of 1,000 yards, then the Razorbacks should be in great shape to match, or even surpass, Collins’ 2015 totals — given the program’s depth at the position. And if all goes way beyond the coach’s hopes, perhaps the program can see two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season, much like in 2014 with Collins and Jonathan Williams accomplishing the feat.

TOUCHDOWNS
Only Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Leonard Fournette of LSU had more rushing scores than Collins’ 20 touchdowns as a junior, creating a big hole to fill for those following him in Fayetteville. Split three ways, that’s a little more than seven touchdowns each required by each running back. That seems like a tall order, especially given that Walker and Williams III have combined for only 14 career scores.

Of course, those numbers possibly rise with regular, consistent playing time. And there’s still the unknown variable that is Whaley, who had his own knack for finding the end zone at Beaumont Central (Texas) High School.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Arkansas loses three big names and even bigger bodies along its offensive line, but if Bielema is known for his running games, he’s even more notorious for developing burly offensive lines. The Razorbacks have led the nation in fewest sacks allowed in each of the three years Bielema has been on The Hill. With Frank Ragnow, potentially one of the top centers in the conference, and the return of RT Dan Skipper, who Athlon Sports named to its preseason All-SEC team, the unit has the blocks to be just as strong in 2016.

WHAT WILL PREVENT THE HOGS FROM MATCHING COLLINS?

Replacing Collins is obviously not easy. Arkansas has the tools to compensate for his loss, but it won’t take much to derail such efforts, either.

HEALTH
The biggest wildcard in the Arkansas running game is the health of the unit. Walker sustained a broken foot at the end of the spring but is expected to return to the lineup for the season’s opening kickoff. Williams III suffered a grisly neck injury during Week 8 against Auburn, which also required surgery as well as a no-contact jersey during spring drills. He, too, is expected to be full strength come this fall.

Walker’s broken foot is a source of great frustration for Bielema and the Razorbacks, who lost running back Jonathan Williams and wide receivers Keon Hatcher and Cody Hollister to the same ailment last year.

PASSING GAME
The running game might not need to equal Collins’ stats. That is, if new quarterback Austin Allen can find a way to get the ball to his wide receivers with the same efficiency as his older brother Brandon Allen. The Razorbacks boast one of the SEC’s top receiving corps thanks to Drew Morgan, who led the conference in receiving touchdowns during the regular season with 10 scores.

Morgan is backed up by a slew of talent in Dominique Reed, Jared Cornelius and the return of 2014 receiving leader Hatcher, also from a medical redshirt. Throw in Jeremy Sprinkle, the SEC’s leading touchdown scorer (6 TDs) among tight ends, and perhaps the Hogs don’t need to rely as much on their running game.

However, as good as the Arkansas pass-catchers were last year, Bielema’s squad still needed all 1,577 of Collins’ yards to set the highest win total (eight) for the coach during his tenure in Fayetteville. However, with a stronger schedule in 2016 — that features TCU and Florida, in addition to the regular fare of Alabama and LSU — a strong run game will only behoove the Hogs.

Plenty remains to be seen, and we should have a better look at the backfield come late August. During the interim, perhaps we should work on creating a better nickname for the trio of Walker, Whaley and Williams III.

Christopher C. Wuensch is a correspondent for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at Christopher.Wuensch@gmail.com