What if LSU RB Caden Durham does not play vs. Ole Miss?

By Hunt Palmer

Caden Durham’s status for Saturday’s game with Ole Miss is in question.

So is LSU’s depth behind the sophomore tailback. Durham is LSU’s clearcut No. 1 option at running back. Without him, someone is going to have to step up in a big way to help power LSU’s struggling rushing attack.

WHAT WE KNOW

Durham led the Tigers in carries a season ago with 140. Josh Williams, who is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finished second with 117. That’s 257 of LSU’s 373 carries from a season ago, good for 69%.

Durham averaged 5.4 yards per rush last year and finished the season with 653 yards and six touchdowns, both led the team.

This season, Durham’s 52 carries dwarf the rest of the rotation. No other Tiger has more than Ju’Juan Johnson’s 16. Furthermore, no other back on the roster has ever started a game for LSU.

LSU’s running back depth has taken significant hits with the legal issues surrounding Trey Holly and JT Lindsey. Holly left the program and is playing across town for Southern. Lindsey is suspended while his legal process plays out.

That leaves junior Kaleb Jackson, Johnson and freshman Harlem Berry as the only fully healthy scholarship options for LSU.

Jackson, the most veteran presence among the options, has just 50 carries over the last season and a half (16 games). He’s averaging 2.8 yards per carry as a Tiger and has a long of 12 yards over the last two seasons. He has not scored a rushing touchdown since the Reliaquest Bowl win over Wisconsin in January 2024.

Berry has touched the ball 15 times in four games this year, all rushes. His 43-yard burst against Louisiana Tech was the highlight. In the games against Clemson and Florida, he’s combined for two carries for three yards.

When Durham went down Saturday night, it was Johnson who shouldered the heaviest workload. He got eight carries that went for 43 yards and a pair of scores. He also caught a pass for 14 yards.

LSU’s ground game has been anemic for the first month. The Tigers rank 112^th in the country in yards per game, 109^th in yards per carry and 106^th in attempts per game.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss has been putrid against the run. The Rebels rank 122^nd of 136 teams against the run in terms of yards per game and 121^st in terms of yards per carry allowed.

Durham has actually made the LSU offensive line look better than it has blocked. So far, 151 of his 213 yard have come after contact. That’s 71%. He’s forced six missed tackles thus far. Next best on LSU’s roster are Michael Van Buren at quarterback and Johnson at running back. They’ve both broken two tackles.

HUNT’S TAKE

It feels like the staff will lean on Johnson if Durham is out or limited. It appears there has been a loss of confidence in Jackson, and Berry probably isn’t physically ready to take 19 carries on the road in a wild environment.

Johnson knows what he’s doing with the ball in his hands. He ran for almost 4,000 yards and 54 touchdowns at Lafayette Christian Academy. Last season, he moved from safety to running back on a Monday and scored a receiving touchdown five days later.

He’s got plenty of size and strength at 6-foot, 210 pounds. He just doesn’t have the reps at SEC game speed like Durham does.

Berry is just a natural runner. I don’t know much about his ability to pass protect, but he can catch and run at an SEC level right now. The thing is, if you can’t protect Garrett Nussmeier adequately behind this LSU offensive line, you can’t play. That will likely be an emphasis for Frank Wilson this week with all three backs behind Durham.

The Tigers are going to try to run the ball against this porous Rebel front. Clemson and Florida are both in the top 53 in rushing defense. Though those teams have struggled to win games, their defensive personnel is superior to Ole Miss’s. I think, assuming Durham is compromised, that Johnson gets the heaviest workload in the backfield. Berry likely gets a package of plays he’s most comfortable with. Maybe those are zone concepts where he can use his vision. Maybe there are some screens involved to create space.

The piece we haven’t covered is Zavion Thomas’s role as a ball carrier. He’s got 10 carries on the year. That number is going to climb on Saturday. Thomas is another gifted runner who enjoys taking handoffs and making plays. He broke loose for a 48-yarder against Louisiana Tech. He can play running back, and I think he will now that LSU has a week to practice with Durham questionable. Barion Brown is also a jet sweep candidate to test the Ole Miss edges.

Barring another injury, LSU has enough options to patch together what is going to be a complementary piece to the offense. The passing game is going to be the strength.

Durham is certainly LSU’s best option, and without him, the ground game will be hurt. How much, we might see on Saturday.

The bright side is that LSU’s open date is up next, so Durham will have two weeks between the Ole Miss game and South Carolina’s trip to Baton Rouge on Oct. 11.