Razorbacks depth at RB troubling going forward beyond 2015 season

From a coaching perspective there was not much more Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema could do to highlight the Hogs running game in 2014. Then junior running back Jonathan Williams and sophomore running back Alex Collins finished No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in the SEC rushing yard race with 1,190 and 1,100 yards. For the 2015 season both running backs return to lead, arguably, the best running back tandem in nation, but what will be left on the shelf for the 2016 season?

The Hogs third leading rusher in 2014 was Kody Walker with 149 yards. Walker is scheduled to finish his collegiate career in 2015. Gone is Arkansas’ fourth leading rusher for a year ago, and perhaps best big play threat, Korliss Marshall. Marshall parted ways with the Hogs after multiple suspensions last season.

The fifth leading rusher for Arkansas in 2014 was wide receiver Keon Hatcher with 112 yards.

Upon completion of the 2015 season Williams and Walker will be gone after using up their college eligibility. One can guess with another 1,000-yard rushing season under his belt Collins might forego his senior season for a shot at the NFL leaving an empty cupboard in Arkansas’ backfield come 2016.

On March 31 Bielema announced via Twitter that redshirt freshman tailback Juan Day had another injury setback suffering an ACL tear, his second in two years. The only other scholarship running back currently on the roster is sophomore Denzell Evans. Evans had seven carries in 2014 for 36 yards.

In the day and age where every high school player wants early playing time, the Hogs were limited in a class of 23 signed out of 25 open scholarships to one running back, Bishop Lynch High School’s (Dallas, Texas) Rawleigh Williams.

Rawleigh Williams fits the mold of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins listed at 5’10”, 205 pounds. He’s a between the tackles runner but not a breakaway speed guy with the ability to win games with an 80-yard run against the speed seen in any given SEC secondary.

Juan Day and Rawleigh Williams represent the scholarship running backs added to the Hogs roster over the past two recruiting classes putting a heavy emphasis on the 2016 class to have at least two game changers signed with a third back needed to provide depth if any other injury setbacks occur on the roster.

Arkansas has offered at least 10 Class of 2016 running backs with two of the recruits already verbally committing to other schools, Denzel Mitchell to Ole Miss and Matthew Falcon to Michigan. The Hogs face heavy competition for the services of Atlanta running back Elijah Holyfield, Beaumont, Texas’ Devwah Whaley, Wylie, Texas’ Aubrey White, New Orleans’ Tre Turner, and Pennsylvania’s Kaezon Pugh. Early signs point to a favorable connection with Springhill, Louisiana running back Devin White.

White, 6’0”, 235 pounds, is a two-way star for North Webster High School also lining up at middle linebacker and even returning punts. White might be that rare college running back like an “Ironhead” Craig Heyward (Pitt) who can carry 245 pounds or more and still be a productive tailback. White also might be the Hogs next true fullback since Kiero Small graduated after the 2013 season if he signs with the Razorbacks.

A couple of givens for a Bret Bielema coached team, especially going forward at Arkansas, the Hogs will run the ball and the Hogs will have a dominating offensive line. Bielema’s track record shows he’s willing to equally distribute the ball allowing two 1,000-yard rushers in the same backfield. How this pitch maybe lost on high school players is mind numbing.

For all of the rebuilding and reshaping Bielema has done with the Arkansas roster over the last two seasons his 2016 recruiting class maybe his most pivotal. Quality SEC players now line the two-deep at Arkansas but the potential shortage at running back, should Alex Collins leave after the 2015 season, is troubling setting up a potential make or break scenario for the Razorback offense in 2016.

 

Written by Ryan Wright

Photo credit: bleacherreport.com; No. 3 Alex Collins finds running room for the Hogs.