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Before last season, the argument about the SEC’s best running back centered on Nick Chubb vs. Leonard Fournette.
Derrick Henry, of course, won the Heisman Trophy. Alex Collins looked pretty outstanding also.
Ten SEC running backs soon will head to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine.
It’s a testament to the conference’s talent at the position that there shouldn’t be a drop-off. Four of the nine 1,000-yard rushers from 2015 will return, as well as a handful other players with at least 600 yards.
The seven most productive returnees are all juniors this fall, making for an exciting season vying for the title of best in the conference.
Here are the Top 10 returning SEC running backs ranked by their rushing yards in 2015.
| Player | ’16 Class | School | ’15 Rushing Yards | TDs | Yds/Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Leonard Fournette | Junior | LSU | 1,953 | 22 | 6.5 |
| 2. Jalen Hurd | Junior | Tennessee | 1,288 | 12 | 4.7 |
| 3. Sony Michel | Junior | Georgia | 1,161 | 8 | 5.3 |
| 4. Ralph Webb | Junior | Vanderbilt | 1,152 | 5 | 4.2 |
| 5. Boom Williams | Junior | Kentucky | 855 | 6 | 7.1 |
| 6. Nick Chubb | Junior | Georgia | 747 | 7 | 8.1 |
| 7. Alvin Kamara | Junior | Tennessee | 698 | 7 | 6.5 |
| 8. Joshua Dobbs | Senior | Tennessee | 671 | 11 | 4.6 |
| 9. Jovon Robinson | Senior | Auburn | 639 | 3 | 5.5 |
| 10. Jojo Kemp | Senior | Kentucky | 555 | 6 | 5.7 |
If Leonard Fournette and Nick Chubb both stay healthy — Chubb is recovering from a severe knee injury — we finally could get our two-man showdown between them for the rushing title.
The class of 2014 is one of the SEC’s all-time greats for running backs, and two from the state of Tennessee — Jalen Hurd and Ralph Webb — could reach 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
Speaking of the Vols, good luck stopping that three-pronged rushing attack this season. UT boasts a trio of the top eight returning rushers in the SEC, including quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Together, they combined for 2,497 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns last season, numbers that could get even better in 2016.
Kentucky’s running game also is intriguing. Boom Williams (7.1 yards per carry) and Jojo Kemp (5.7) combined to rush for a very efficient 1,410 yards last season. With a new offensive coordinator, will UK finally realize that it runs the ball really well and lean in them more often?
This should be the final season for many, if not most, of the seven juniors on this list. We could even see two first-round picks from this list in 2017 in Fournette and Chubb. That would be the first time the SEC placed two running backs in the first round since 2008 (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones).
Enjoy this group while it lasts. Because even by SEC standards, it’s special.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
