The SEC is absolutely brimming with running back talent heading into 2015. Last year, seven backs rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and that number could climb this fall.

The group is headlined by Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette, both rising sophomores, and Derrick Henry, a junior. After them comes the Arkansas duo of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins, Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd, Missouri’s Russell Hansbrough, Vanderbilt’s Ralph Webb and a slew of super-talented newcomers and backups: Auburn’s Jovon Robinson and Roc Thomas, Georgia’s Sony Michel, Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara and Alabama’s Kenyan Drake.

The cream of the crop is certainly NFL bound. Henry could be a first-round pick in 2016, while Fournette and Chubb have the physical talent and football ability to join him the following year. Plenty of the guys a tier or two down will join them, too.

Simply put, the SEC hasn’t had this many good running backs at one time in a long time, and possibly ever.

What years did the SEC rival the 2015 crop of running backs since expansion in 1992? There were a few that came close.

1998

1,000-yard backs: 4 (James Johnson, Miss. State; Kevin Faulk, LSU; Shaun Alexander, Alabama; Deuce McCallister, Ole Miss)
Future NFL draft picks: 8 (Johnson; Faulk; Alexander; McCallister; Travis Henry, Tennessee; Olandis Gary, Georgia; Terry Jackson, Florida; Madre Hill, Arkansas)

There were several future NFL stars in this class, including future NFL MVP Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowlers McCallister and Travis Henry. Faulk, one of the most versatile backs in SEC history, went from being an all-purpose star at LSU to doing the same as a vital cog for the New England Patriots’ run of Super Bowl titles in the early 2000s.

2004

1,000-yard backs: 5 (Ciatrick Faison, Florida; Carnell Williams, Auburn; Gerald Riggs, Tennessee; Ken Darby, Alabama; Jerious Norwood, Miss. State; Cedric Houston, Tennessee)
Future NFL draft picks: 8 (Faison; Williams; Darby; Norwood; Houston; Ronnie Brown, Auburn; Thomas Brown, Georgia; Joseph Addai, LSU)

This wasn’t the strongest year for SEC running backs on this list, but it was pretty darn good in its own right. The Auburn duo of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown led the Tigers to an undefeated season and both were selected in the first five picks of the 2005 NFL draft. A year later, Joseph Addai from LSU joined those two as a first-round pick.

2007

1,000-yard backs: 8 (Darren McFadden, Arkansas; Knowshon Moreno, Georgia; Arian Foster, Tennessee; Felix Jones, Arkansas; BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Ole Miss; Jacob Hester, LSU; Anthony Dixon, Miss. State; Rafael Little, Kentucky)
Future NFL draft picks: 9 (McFadden; Moreno; Jones; Hester; Dixon; Cory Boyd, South Carolina; Ben Tate; Auburn; Montario Hardesty, Tennessee; Glen Coffee, Alabama)

The 2007 group becomes even more impressive when you take into account that two of its biggest stars at the professional level, Arian Foster and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, both went undrafted. Just like in 2014 (and possibly ’15), Arkansas had a pair of running backs top 1,000 yards, while Glen Coffee started Alabama’s run of dominant tailbacks.

2009

1,000-yard backs: 5 (Mark Ingram, Alabama; Dixon; Tate; Hardesty; Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss)
Future NFL draft picks: 8 (Ingram; Dixon; Tate; Hardesty; McCluster; Trent Richardson, Alabama; Zac Stacy, Vanderbilt; Bryce Brown, Tennessee)

This was a landmark season, at least for Alabama, as Mark Ingram broke through to become the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history. His backup, Trent Richardson, was good enough to become the third overall pick in the draft a few years down the line. Brown had a vagabond career, finishing at Kansas State before being selected in the 2012 draft.

2014

1,000-yard backs: 7 (Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn; Chubb; Josh Robinson, Miss. State; Williams; Collins; Hansbrough; Fournette)
Future NFL draft picks: 8 (Artis-Payne; Robinson; Mike Davis, South Carolina; T.J. Yeldon, Alabama; Marcus Murphy, Missouri; Todd Gurley, Georgia; Matt Jones, Florida; Kenny Hilliard, LSU)

The number of draft picks from this class is certain to rise, with five of the seven 1,000-yard rushers from last year returning to school for 2015. Gurley was the top pick in this group despite a shortened final season at Georgia, proof that this class of RBs was even deeper than it showed.