By now we all know about Dak Prescott, the star quarterback leading the Heisman race while leading Mississippi State to an unprecedented 7-0 start and corresponding No. 1 ranking in the national polls. Prescott has been fantastic this season, and he deserves all the credit he’s received in leading MSU to the top of the college football world.

However, another star in the Bulldogs backfield has also carried the team this year, and he’s done so about as quietly and under-appreciated as any star in the country.

His name is Josh Robinson. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?

Robinson has finally earned some name recognition nine weeks into the season, and for good reason. The junior is currently leading the SEC in rushing with 887 yards at more than 7.3 yards per carry, and leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with 10.

No other player in the conference comes within 50 yards of his total, even though he’s played seven games to most everyone else’s eight. No other back with at least 120 carries (Robinson has 121) is averaging more than 6.8 yards per carry. And only two other players can match his SEC-leading 10 touchdowns, and one of those is Prescott (the other is Arkansas tailback Jonathan Williams).

The numbers speak for themselves. Robinson is clearly the second best back in the SEC to Georgia’s Todd Gurley, who was leading the SEC in most statistical categories before his suspension. Yet Gurley was considered a Heisman finalist before being sidelined, while Robinson continues to hide in Prescott’s shadows on a more successful team and in a more successful offense.

The biggest difference between the two? Gurley was the focal point of Georgia’s offense, and was seen as the determining factor in the Dawgs’ playoff hopes. Robinson, meanwhile, is the second option in Mississippi State’s offense, which makes him appear less valuable to his team’s success and thus less transcendent on a national stage.

The junior tailback has been unable to shake the perception that he’s only benefitting from the conflict Prescott puts opposing defenses in when he’s on the field. Most casual fans see State’s success and think the Bulldogs are only winning because of their quarterback. In actuality, while quarterback may be a more important position in deciding wins and losses, Robinson does as much to help Prescott as Prescott does to help Robinson in MSU’s backfield.

Close to 60 percent of Robinson’s carries have come on first downs, and he’s averaging more than 7.1 yards per carry on those first down touches. Robinson is the one picking apart defenses to open fresh sets of downs, freeing up the rest of the offense for Prescott and company to take advantage. The Dakman is great, but it would be naive to think he’d be posting the same kinds of numbers without Robinson winning on most first downs.

And J-Rob has been even better on third downs, averaging better than 9.9 yards per carry including more than 12.8 yards per carry on third and 3 or less.

With that kind of pressure taken off Prescott on first and third downs, it’s easy to see why he’s been so successful. Thanks to Robinson’s running, Prescott and the MSU offense rarely play from behind the chains, and as Robinson has grown more consistent it’s created more opportunities for play-action passes, an area in which Prescott excels as a quarterback.

So you see, it’s actually Robinson who creates opportunities for Prescott to shine more often than not. Prescott makes the plays that end up on highlight reels, but Robinson is the one who sets up many of those opportunities.

The star back also adds a physical presence to the offense, which wears down opposing defenses allowing Mississippi State to take over in the second halves of games. As most teams grow tired Robinson only grows stronger, which makes it tougher for defenses to slow him down while also monitoring what Prescott is doing.

Sixty of Robinson’s 121 carries this year have come in the second halves of games, a near-even split between first and second half touches. He’s maintained a 7 yards per carry average in the second half, and actually has more 20 yard runs in the second halves of games than in the first. Defenders get tired, but Robinson just keeps running right through them.

As Robinson continues to compile 100-yard performances, he’ll only open up more running lanes for Prescott in the final five weeks of the season. The star tailback is a downhill runner who requires multiple defenders to bring him down. It’s tough to dedicate multiple defenders to stopping a downhill runner like Robinson when Prescott can take off around the edge at any time for another Heisman-caliber run or play-action pass.

Because Robinson is so consistent and so powerful, it allows Prescott to truly flex his muscles and take over games however he sees fit. Trust me, he needs Robinson more than most people think.

Now to be fair, fans and experts are not totally wrong when they say Prescott helps Robinson succeed, too. Prescott is a dynamic runner and an above-average passer, and defenses are slower to react to Robinson because they’re watching what Prescott is doing at the start of every play. Robinson may be consistent, but he’s not a threat to break off a lot of 40- or 50-yard runs like Gurley was earlier this season.

Prescott, however, is the kind of player who can turn any play in any situation into a touchdown, and he must be accounted for before any other player on the Mississippi State offense. Just like Robinson’s downhill running opens up opportunities for Prescott, the quarterback’s incredible playmaking abilities do the same for Robinson.

The distraction Prescott creates freezes linebackers and causes the ends to close down slower as they wait to see what Prescott is going to do. Robinson might not be the explosive big-play threat his quarterback is, but he’s consistent and physical enough to run for nice gains under those circumstances on almost every carry. Just like Robinson does for Prescott, the quarterback returns the favor in creating opportunities for his star tailback, who has the perfect skill set to take advantage.

It’s fair to say both players are better off playing alongside one another than either would be on his own. I’m not trying to assert that Robinson is the best player in the SEC, or even the best player on his team. The point I hope I’ve gotten across is that Robinson is a darn good player in his own right, and more than just a beneficiary of his star quarterback.

Prescott deserves the Heisman recognition he’s received, but there’s no way he’d even be a finalist alongside Oregon’s Marcus Mariota or Notre Dame’s Everett Golson were it not for the efforts of Robinson in the run game. Robinson is the glue that holds the offense together, and the physical presence who sets a tone in each and every game. He’s the most productive back in the SEC, and it’s thanks to him that Mississippi State is having its best season in history with a relatively new face at quarterback (or at least relatively new to the role as the full-time starter).

J-Rob is the leading rusher in the nation’s best conference, and a star on the nation’s best team. He’s an accessory to a potential Heisman winner, and at times is the man to carry the MSU offense when that Heisman winner is being contained.

He’s not the best player on the team, but it’s time to give Josh Robinson credit he deserves in helping lead the Bulldogs to their first No. 1 ranking in history.