The countdown to kickoff is no longer at a snail’s pace with kickoff a little over two weeks away for most SEC programs. That means we are also nearly halfway through fall camp for most teams in the league as well. There are still plenty of starting jobs up for grabs though, so let’s dive into the most intriguing fall camp position battles.
Up first, the LSU Tigers.
LSU: Running back
This one could go a number of ways. There are several key positions that still need settling in Year 1 of the Lane Kiffin era. The defensive line has question marks, as does the actual rotation at wide receiver, and there are still some players vying for starting roles on the offensive line. The burning question however, is at running back.
There are several really good backs in the rotation this season. Dilin Jones has led the way and looks to be the leader in the clubhouse as of Thursday. But, don’t count out former five-star Harlem Berry or former leading rusher, Caleb Durham who have also had their moments this preseason. The issue isn’t the amount of talent, it’s how to decide on who gets the lion’s share of the carries amongst the group.
Kiffin and Charlie Weis’ offenses are known for running the football. Over the last five seasons, Ole Miss had more cumulative rushing yards than any other team in the SEC. Last year’s Rebel team had 576 carries on the season with 12 different players getting at least one rushing attempt on the season. However, only four running backs registered a rushing attempt and of the 375 total shared amongst the backs, 306 of them went to one person. That means that 81.6% percent of their entire offense’s rushing attempts at running back went to one person.
Kiffin has been really good at forcing the ball to his playmakers at a high rate throughout his career as a play caller. If he has multiple elite offensive weapons at the running back position, he will find a way to divvy up the targets and workload and he’s unable to, then expect one player to receive an overwhelming share of those carries. The naming of RB1 in this year’s camp will most likely have a massive role in this year’s offense.
