South Carolina football: running back room not considered top 5 in SEC

South Carolina football not ranked among SEC’s top 5.

The South Carolina football team returns the conference’s top returning rusher from the 2020 season, bringing back junior tailback Kevin Harris. Harris won the regular season rushing crown last year, running for 1,138 yards and 15 touchdowns over a ten-game slate. The Gamecocks also get to see MarShawn Lloyd, a former five-star recruit, live in action following his recovery from an ACL tear that occurred prior to the season opener.

Those two are likely to give the Gamecocks a solid one-two punch, but there’s more talent on the roster that will also get an opportunity to shine in 2021. ZaQuandre White, who came to Columbia as the nation’s top JUCO back, was an All-American at Iowa Western in 2019 after averaging 109.5 yards a contest. He comes back for a second and final season with South Carolina, and has received a ton of praise from the new coaching staff, having taken the majority of the No. 1 reps over the Spring with Lloyd and Harris recovering from offseason injuries.

Joining those three is redshirt freshman Rashad Amos, who saw action towards the end of last season, rushing for a combined 99 yards on 18 carries against Georgia and Kentucky. With four legitimate options at the position, tailback has become the team’s most proven and most talented group on offense.

It’s clearly one of the better rushing attacks in the country, but where should it rank in comparison to other tailback rooms around the SEC?

The JBoy Show recently revealed its rankings of the top five running back rooms in the conference, and the Gamecocks failed to make the cut.

https://twitter.com/thejboyshow/status/1404763460651651077

One would think that a backfield that includes the SEC’s top rusher, the former No. 1 ranked JUCO RB, and the former No. 1 rated high school RB would be enough to push the group into the top five. JBoy, however, needs to see it on the field first.

His main reasoning for leaving the Gamecocks off the list is that outside of Harris, no one has proven themselves. Amos and White didn’t see a ton of carries, with both having posted less than 20 carries a year ago. In White’s case, he was actually switched over to defense late in the year due to a number of opt outs in the South Carolina secondary.

Lloyd, while talented, has yet to step foot on the field. His hype is based on high school performance, as opposed to production versus SEC competition. It’s an understandable train of thought, but it’s not one that we agree on.

Auburn and Alabama both seem to get the benefit of the doubt due to their names, rather than their on-field production. The Crimson Tide, in particular, have to replace a first-round selection in Najee Harris, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in 2020. While Brian Robinson was effective last year, rushing for 483 yards in a reserve role, he and the Tide’s other top returning tailbacks, Trey Sanders and Jase McClellan, combined for just 862 yards. Of course, we realize that Harris received the majority of reps, but it kind of dismisses the “see it on the field” notion.

Auburn, though possessing the league’s top all-purpose back, has little depth at the position. Tank Bigsby ran for more than 800 yards in a fantastic freshman campaign, but back up Shaun Shivers has never eclipsed 400 yards in a season, and has seen his production decrease in each of the past two years. Kevin Harris, alone, outrushed both of these players combined in 2020.

Personally, we’d swap those two out with the Gamecocks and Kentucky, who returns two upperclassmen rushers that have totaled 600-yard seasons. We have no issue with Ole Miss, Georgia, and Texas A&M, all of whom return legitimate No.1 backs, along with proven production on the depth chart.

This list will change as the season goes on, and so long as the Gamecocks stay healthy, they’ll find themselves near the top of the rankings at year’s end.