Ranking the Top 10 SEC running backs entering the 2016 season
While quarterback appears to be somewhat lean this year in the SEC, that’s not the case in the backfield.
RELATED: Ranking Top 10 SEC QBs in 2016
Even with Derrick Henry — the league’s new single-season leader in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns — now in the NFL, there is a laundry list of legitimately lethal ball carriers ready to move the sticks.
Spoiler alert: LSU’s Leonard Fournette is the premier running back not only in the conference but also the country. His once-in-a-decade combination of Herculean power, gazelle-like speed and 360-degree vision is a joy to watch in Baton Rouge. It wouldn’t be a big upset if Henry’s records only lasted one measly year.
Beyond Fournette, there are several tailbacks who will battle for All-SEC recognition come season’s end. Additionally, a handful of backups are good enough to start at just about any other program in the nation.
Here are our Top 10 runners in the SEC for 2016. The best conference in America is poised to run the ball quite well.
10. Bo Scarbrough/Damien Harris, Alabama: For the first time during the Nick Saban regime in Tuscaloosa, he doesn’t have an experienced running back ready to move into a primary role. Henry and Kenyan Drake, last year’s No. 2, have both moved on to Sunday football. The cupboard is far from empty, though. Scarbrough was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Harris was, too. At least one of them is a likely star by season’s end.
9. Alvin Kamara, Tennessee: One of the more effective change-of-pace options in the land a year ago, Kamara averaged 6.5 yards per carry and also caught 34 passes out of the backfield. We know the Volunteers have struggled to make big plays in the passing game with Joshua Dobbs pulling the trigger, so expect a heavy dose of the ground game once again in Knoxville. There are more than enough carries to go around for Kamara to have an even bigger 2016.
Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
8. Sony Michel, Georgia: Similar to Kamara, Michel is probably at his best in a complementary role behind a first- and second-down battering ram. While he is a fine runner, his skills as a pass catcher make him ideally suited for third-down duties. If freshman Jacob Eason ends up being the starter under center right out of high school, checking the ball down to Michel can be a confidence booster. Michel can be the lead back in a pinch, too.
7. Derrius Guice, LSU: Even if he was only credited with 51 rushing attempts in 12 games, nobody in the SEC averaged more than Guice’s 8.6 yards per carry. As great as Fournette is, and he’s otherworldly great, the Tigers were equally impressive running the ball with Guice taking handoffs from Brandon Harris. Guice’s effectiveness is a win-win for coach Les Miles, who can keep Fournette fresh for the stretch drive and not lose much production.
6. Jovon Robinson, Auburn: Because the Tigers are yet to name a starting quarterback, coach Gus Malzahn was asked about the competition there repeatedly at SEC Media Days a few weeks back. But Malzahn reiterated time and again that his offense needs to get back to running the football more often, more effectively and with more pace. That starts with Robinson, whose 5.5 yards per carry last year was much better than the departed Peyton Barber’s 4.3.
Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
5. Stanley “Boom” Williams, Kentucky: If there’s a such thing as quietly averaging 7.1 yards per carry as a starting tailback in the SEC, then that’s what Williams did in 2015. Injuries limited him to 10 contests, which chipped away at what could have really been a monster season, so he had to settle for 855 yards on just 12.1 attempts per game. In addition to better health, Williams needs Drew Barker to upgrade UK’s passing attack to help open more running lanes.
4. Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt: Needless to say, Webb doesn’t have as much help around him as some of the others on this list. As bad as the Commodores were through the air this past season, his 1,152-yard performance was nothing short of miraculous. He actually did his best work in hostile environments, registering 669 yards in six road games. Should Webb put up similar stats in 2016, he’ll be Vandy’s all-time leading rusher in just three years.
3. Jalen Hurd, Tennessee Raw power between the tackles, Hurd keeps the Volunteers ahead of the chains with the way he punishes defenders at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. His yards-per-carry numbers are remarkably similar when you take a closer look at his splits. Home vs. road, wins vs. losses, ranked vs. unranked — if only Dobbs could be so consistent in the passing game. If there is a Heisman Trophy candidate in Knoxville, it’s Hurd, not Dobbs.
Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
2. Nick Chubb, Georgia: Had Chubb not torn up his knee at Tennessee this past October, he might have broken Herschel Walker’s single-season rushing record, too. In five-plus games, he had already rushed for 747 yards and 7 TDs while averaging a ridiculous 8.1 yards per attempt. Whether he makes it all the way back from injury could be the key to the campaign between the hedges. He simply has an extra gear on the ground that Michel doesn’t offer.
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU: Again, the top face on this totem pole was no mystery. Despite all the accolades thrown Henry’s way in 2015, and rightfully so, Fournette actually averaged more yards per game (162.8) than the former Crimson Tide star (147.9) and did so getting 1.3 fewer rushes each Saturday. The Bayou Bengals will be comfortably in the Top 10 once the polls are released, with Fournette carrying the offense on his back yet again.
MISSING THE CUT
Keith Ford, Texas A&M: A former five-star recruit who transferred from Oklahoma, Ford is in line to take over for the departed Tra Carson.
Brandon Holloway, Mississippi State: With Dak Prescott no longer in Starkville, Holloway’s number will probably be called much more often this season.
Mark Thompson, Florida: Jordan Cronkrite and Jordan Scarlett have more SEC experience, but Thompson, a JUCO transfer, might possess the most upside of the three.
Devwah Whaley, Arkansas: With Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams now former Razorbacks, Whaley has a chance to establish himself as the head Hog right out of high school.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
Everyone keeps talking about Whaley for Arkansas. He is not our number 1 right now. He is behind Williams and Walker the kid is just hoping to get playing time this year.
Williams is going to show people. He is our #1, and right now, it ain’t even close.
Heck yeah Williams is. He is going to be a beast.
Of course Whaley isn’t your No. 1 right now. Coaches like Bielema can’t just hand starting jobs to true freshmen right out of high school when there are upperclassmen who’ve been patiently waiting their turn — you lose a locker room that way. But when he was talking about his running backs at Media Days, he was talking about Whaley. He might not start Week 1, but there’s a good chance he’s starting by midseason because he’s too good to sit and watch.
@john, you raise a good ?-mark. Is Whaley good enough to make the upperclassmen bow down? I guess we would just have to go watch practice?
If you see Whaley in person, he is very impressive. With that said, he could stand more time in the weight room. Arkansas has a very difficult playbook to memorize as a RB. There are lots of blocking schemes, and protections to learn, & that cannot be accomplished from a player starting in the fall. Whaley will not start in 2016. He may play, but will not start.
With Austin getting his feet wet as a starter we will see probably a 65/35 run pass split. By the end of the season we could have two 1000 yard hogs and maybe Kody Walker on the edge in the 800/900 yard range.
Chubb seems a bit high considering that he’s coming back from injury. It takes lots of guys a full season to get into the grove.
You do know that Chubb has a body of work to back up his ranking don’t you? In other words, “you mad bruh”?
I think Chubb is absolutely awesome and I hope he makes a full recovery. I think Hurd is the most complete back of the group considering blocking, receiving, rushing and I think that we’ll see improved rushing stats from him with a more experienced and deeper ol and if his break away speed improves.
It is hard to know if Fournette can pass block…LSU doesn’t really throw that often.
John Crist Whaley will not start once this year. He is very talented and we are very glad to have him but he is not better than Williams. When Williams is done being a hog then Whaley will start but until then he will be our number 2 or 3.
John Crist – no love for any of the Ole Miss backs? You aren’t the first to overlook them. And its understandable considering the workload was literally split evenly between Walton, Wilkens and Judd last year (and Kelly). Walton is gone but you are crazy is you think Wilkens and/or Judd aren’t totally capable. They were both big recruits who have had big moments in “limited”, yet meaningful playing time in big games.
Wilkens avg 5.3 yards per carry with huge runs against Bama, Miss State (long TD) and Okie State in the sugar bowl (long TD).
Judd avg 5.5 YPC with big games against Auburn (long TD) and big gainers vs LSU and Miss St. (go Youtube the Miss State run)
While the Rebels running game can be too “finesse” at times (which, as a fan, can be very frustrating), they did finish 7th in the conference at 183 yards per game. Somewhere this should and could be acknowledged. We got backs, baby!
And Wilkens and Judd are both MUCH bigger and more powerful than Walton or Jeff Scott before him. And the frosh Swinney is supposedly a total stud.
Even I as an Ole Miss fan don’t think any of our RBs belong here. None have stepped up as a feature back and none have proven anything. I’m optimistic about them, but they have to prove it to earn preseason recognition, you should know that.
I think you are missing my point.
The Rebels ran for approx 200 yards a game through the last 7 games last year against high quality opponents. I think the running game as a whole was pretty good in those games. We finished the season rnaked 7th in the league in rushing. The issue is that we spread the wealth around so much so that no single back accumulated big time stats. But Wilkens and Judd 100% showed they are capable and they were big recruits. They both ran the ball very well when called upon and had big moments.
So if you are going to mention Whaley, Thompson, Holloway, and Ford.. You may want to acknowledge these Rebel backs first as they have produced in big moments, albeit in conjunction with each other (and Walton last year, and Kelly).
1224, did you ever think that Freeze has to go with RB by committee (including Kelly) because he doesn’t trust one RB to be the guy? If Fournette, Chubb, or Hurd (or even Webb or Boom) were on OM, you better believe they would be the feature back and there would only be a compliment, but definitely not a committee. There is some talent at RB on OM’s roster, but nothing deserving of being ranked ahead of any of the RB’s on this list.
Crist not putting any OM RB’s on this list probably has a lot to do with the fact that Freeze has had an underwhelming running game ever since he arrived. Not to mention that Kelly will be the focal point of the offense. Heck, he might even be yall’s leading rusher, which is not a good indictment of the RB’s.
This is what I hate about SDS. They think they know more about the teams then the fans know and I promise you nobody on this website knows more about Arkansas Football than me.
It’s our job to know more than you do. There’s no reason to be offended by that. Just like you know more about your job than we do. Personally, I have a lot of money in the stock market. Just because I pay attention and have an interest in it, that doesn’t mean I know more about it than the Wall Street Journal.
Hope Bamatime doesn’t get to see this list. According to him neither LSU nor UT has any position player better than any Bama starter. Funny they both have 2 guys ranked ahead of the Tide’s starters. I’ve said this already but I’m just a homer. EVERYONE knows neither LSU or UT have players even close to being on par with the Tide. Hmph.
Exactly right
Especially at RB. Bama fans seem to be in denial that the have 0 RB experience headed into the season. Something they haven’t faced in a long time. Add in a new face at QB and you’ve got the most inexperienced backfield in the SEC this year. The talent is there, but it’s all fresh faces. Believe it or not Bama, you MIGHT struggle this year.
They’ll lose 2 games, 3 if your Rebels get them early which is very possible.
Florida, Arky and Bama beat LSU.
Great Point. I read where Scarbrough is the first Bama running back since before Glen Coffee(before Saban was coach), to not have at least 500 yards in the season before he became the premier back. Not saying he won’t be good, but he is the most unproven back Saban has ever gone into a season with.
Now you’re just going to Lie. I have said numerous times that LF is the best RB in CFB this next season. A lot of people said he was the best RB in CFB last season and LSU lost 3 games. You’re the one that tried to say LSU is equally as talented as Bama. It’s not my fault you can’t back that statement up. No need to flat out lie.
The question marks are more returning o-line than the backs themselves. Only two stick out to me regardless of line in front of them, Chubb and Fournette. (even they have to wait and see where the blocks are to a big extent). Missouri is watching Nate Strong was one of the top Junior College backs last year and Alex Ross, the Oklahoma transfer. Both have proven they can average 6 yards per hand-off. Also wondering if the string of having a quick small thousand-yard back will become Lawrence-Josey-Lawrence-Josey-Murphy-Handsborough-Witter. Because Witter did look better in the spring game.
Perfect list (rare for sds)
Yeah I honestly have no complaints about these rankings. It is weird. Good job SDS.
My guess would be that Thompson will move into the top ten now that Robinson is gone. Assuming that #’s 7-10 slide down one spot, who would you put at #10 now, Mr Crist?