Gamecocks vs. Texas A&M: Tra Carson, Trey Williams look for bigger things in 2014
By Sydney Hunte
While the South Carolina Gamecocks have a star running back in Mike Davis, the Texas A&M Aggies have not one, but two pretty good ones of their own.
Meet juniors Tra Carson and Trey Williams.
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Williams and Carson, both Doak Walker Award nominees before the season, ran for 407 and 329 yards in 2013, respectively, for a combined total of 736 yards and 13 touchdowns on 120 carries. In comparison, the team’s leading rusher, whose name you probably know (hint: he was their starting quarterback last year), had 759 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
[table id=7 /]Now, with Manziel and second-leading rusher Ben Malena (551 yards, 10 touchdowns) gone, it’s the Williams and Carson show in the backfield, and they now have new opportunities to showcase their talents. While you’ll see doses of Brandon Williams as well (the trio is listed with “or” besides their names on the official depth chart), it’s Tra and Trey that will do the most damage, I think, when it comes to the running game, but the other Williams has a chance to rise to the occasion as well. I’d also be alert if I were the Gamecocks special teams because it’s well known what Trey Williams can do in the return game.
How the Gamecocks are able to perform against what appears to be a triple-threat running system remains to be seen, and I’ll be interested to see how that particular matchup shapes up.