68 Days Until Kansas Football: Previewing the Running Backs
Each week, we will take a deep dive into one of the 10 main position groups, highlighting the key players to watch and giving you an idea of what to expect from the position this year. This week, we continue our series with more of the offense. It's another position that fans probably aren't too worried about this season: the running backs
Previous Positions Covered:
Last Season
The Jayhawks had four players log a significant number of snaps in games from the running back position last season. They also had multiple players who contributed to the running game from other positions as well.
| Player Name | Attempts | Net Yards | Avg | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Devin Neal | 158 | 707 | 4.5 | 8 |
Amauri Pesek-Hickson | 60 | 218 | 3.6 | 2 |
Torry Locklin | 36 | 117 | 3.3 | 2 |
Velton Gardner | 29 | 56 | 1.9 | 0 |
Jason Bean | 92 | 400 | 4.3 | 2 |
Jalon Daniels | 33 | 83 | 2.5 | 3 |
Miles Kendrick | 13 | 73 | 5.6 | 0 |
Velton Gardner was the expected to be the starter coming into the season, given how strong of a season he had behind Pooka Williams in 2020, but Devin Neal made a name for himself quickly. It became pretty clear that Neal's role wasn't going to allow Gardner to get as many snaps as he wanted in situations that would be beneficial, and he transferred pretty quickly.
Amauri Pesek-Hickson was effective in short-yardage situations, Torry Locklin, who converted from the quarterback position, provided a nice change of pace that also was a threat to throw. Each of the quarterbacks contributed in the running game, especially Bean, who was just as dangerous on the ground as he was throwing through the air.
Cause For Concern
The main concern here, just like the quarterbacks, is health. The quarterback injuries came in rushing situations, and even the running backs had difficulties staying healthy. Devin Neal suffered an injury in the TCU game, Torry Locklin got injured in the Kansas State game, and even Daniel Hishaw was unavailable due to a preseason injury. There were multiple times last season where players were unavailable due to taking big hits.
I'm not sure if it's just the result of bad luck, or if there is something form-wise that needs to be corrected, but it's hard to deny that the Jayhawks suffered from a lot of injuries to key players last season.
Reasons for Optimism
This may seem redundant, but it's again quality depth. Anyone who watched the Jayhawks last season should feel confident in the ability shown by Devin Neal. Daniel Hishaw, who played well in the second half of the 2020 season, was a great short-yardage/fullback player, and should help round out that production.
And then there are the transfers. Ky Thomas was a highly regarded recruit out of high school who played well in his time at Minnesota, and Sevion Morrison comes to the Jayhawks after a limited run with Nebraska. In fact, the running back room is so well stocked, that I expressed some worry about how difficult it will be to get everyone snaps.
Projected Depth Chart
There are so many options, that it was actually really hard to figure out what I thought the 2-deep would be. So instead, I'm going to give the top 4 overall running backs. As it stands right now, this is my best guess:
RB1: Devin Neal
There should be no question that Devin Neal is the clear starter. He seized the job early in his first season, and there was a noticeable drop off when he was injured at the end of the season. With his ability to do pretty much everything, it's hard to imagine that they would bring anyone else in other than to allow Neal to remain fresh throughout the game.
RB2: Ky Thomas
This one is more of a gut feeling than anything, but there just seemed to be a lot more excitement from both the fans and the coaches when Thomas committed. It's also very likely that RB2-4 are only going to be separated by a few snaps, because Neal is going to play that much this year. Thomas' pass-catching abilities should be a benefit to him in earning playing time as well.
RB3: Daniel Hishaw
It's going to be important to have a short-yardage and goal-line back, and Hishaw excelled in that role in 2020. His injury last season may have put him behind a bit, but there isn't any player on the roster that fits better in that role.
RB4: Torry Locklin
Locklin gets the benefit of the doubt here because of his large role last season as a change of pace back that also provided a threat to throw the ball. Assuming he is fully recovered from his injury from last season, He should get a decent amount of playing time as well.
Full-back: Spencer Roe
The redshirt senior is the only player listed as a fullback on the roster. However, players like Jared Casey filled in the role last season, despite size concerns, so it's possible that others may get an opportunity to sub in here. The Jayhawks didn't have a lot of snaps with a traditional fullback last season though, so this will be a limited role.
Depth
Sevion Morrison leads the group here and is the best bet for someone not listed above who might see significant minutes. Rounding out the room are redshirt sophomores Malik Johnson and Jack Codwell and redshirt freshman DeAndre Thomas Jr. Don't expect much time from them this season, except for some special teams snaps.
Coaching Staff
The running backs will be coached by Jonathan Wallace, who joined the staff in February 2020, after the first season under Les Miles. His first season saw a successful quartet of Pooka Williams, Velton Gardner, Daniel Hishaw and Amauri Pesek-Hickson.
Prior to joining the Jayhawks, Wallace coached the tight ends at Air Force in 2019, and spent the 2018 on staff at Bethel with former Kansas offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon. The former Auburn quarterback/wide receiver spent two years as a graduate assistant at Auburn.
He has a history of success in his short time coaching, and has previously shown the ability to juggle a running back room with multiple talented options.
Overall Thoughts
If I put together a list of the positions that I was most worried about going into the season, this position would absolutely rank at the very bottom. And that would be WAY below everything else. Devin Neal is the obvious starter, and joins a long line of super talented running backs for the Jayhawks, but Ky Thomas would have an argument for the top guy in most other situations.
And the depth is fantastic for the unit. With multiple guys that can be successful in multiple styles of play, no Jayhawk fan should be worried about the running backs this season.
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