The SEC has a bucket full of outstanding running backs.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry and LSU’s Leonard Fournette are the best two backs in the nation — in whatever order you’d like to list them.

Before he went down with a knee injury, Georgia’s Nick Chubb was in that discussion as well. Throw in guys like Arkansas’ Alex Collins, Auburn’s Peyton Barber, Georgia’s Sony Michel and Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd, and the league takes a backseat to no one in terms of quality running backs.

You have to look down the SEC rushing chart a bit to find South Carolina’s Brandon Wilds at No. 13. But, a closer look at his numbers suggest that, when healthy, he probably belongs in the discussion with that group just behind Henry and Fournette among the league’s elite backs.

He has 507 yards and is averaging just under 5.3 yards per carry on the season. But he missed most of the Georgia game in Week 3 and the three games that followed because of a rib injury.

In the five games during which he’s been completely healthy, Wilds has topped 100 yards in three of them.

The dawn of the Shawn Elliott era at South Carolina has also been good for the redshirt senior from Blythewood, S.C.

Wilds returned from injury for Elliott’s debut against Vanderbilt, and in the last three games, he’s rushed for 326 yards and his only 2 touchdowns of the season. It’s a far cry from the time share role he had when Steve Spurrier was still on the Gamecocks’ sidelines.

“First and foremost as a player, he is a workhorse,” Elliott said. “You can hand the ball off to him 17, 20, 25 times, he only gets better as the game goes along. With that, the team rallies around that, grows, gains confidence and it becomes a different offense. I don’t know if I ever have been a fan of a huge rotation of backs. Two carries here, two carries there, I don’t know if you ever get in a rhythm like that as a running back.”

Is the argument that Wilds is a top 5 back a statistical reach?

Perhaps, but we’ll see.

Wilds and the Gamecocks finish the season with games against Florida, The Citadel and Clemson. The middle game might be a good time to pad one’s offensive stats, but the Gators and Tigers both rank in the top 20 nationally against the run.

A strong close for Wilds in his senior season would go a long way towards cementing his place among the league’s best backs, and it might get him a bit more recognition from pro scouts as well.

“Missed a couple games, just trying to go out there and fight for yards,” Wilds said. “Just getting the most that I can. Know that it’s my last go-round, only have one shot to do it.”