New Coach and New Stars: Arkansas Razorbacks have Clean Slate at Running Back

The Arkansas Razorbacks running game took a big hit after the season ended. Star running backs Alex Collins and Johnathan Williams are officially gone, and running backs coach Jemel Singleton was hired by the Indianapolis Colts. The Hogs have a lot of questions at the running back position, but they have a deep roster full of guys ready to prove themselves, and a new coach with years of experience. What can we expect to see from this unit in the fall?

Some of you may not know this, but I live in Lawrence, Kansas. I proudly walk around Massachusetts Street with my Arkansas Razorbacks gear on. This is a town that, for all intents and purposes, does not give a crap about football. And yet, the day after it was announced that Reggie Mitchell had been hired by Bielema, I had more than one person stop me on the streets to express their sadness that he was leaving KU after 5 years.

Mitchell’s running backs unit at KU was, consistently, the best thing about the Jayhawks football team. His success at a place like Lawrence, where football is secondary and secondaries are nonexistent, shows that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to putting a running back corp together.

Mitchell walks into Arkansas with a clean slate and a full roster. What they don’t have is a starter. Mitchell’s biggest job at Arkansas will be figuring out how to use this stable of skilled but overall inexperienced players to create the best offense.

Does that mean he needs to find a featured back, like Collins was last year? Or will the Hogs benefit more from a split time system, like with Williams and Collins the two prior years? Just the task of setting the depth chart is going to be difficult for Mitchell and Bret Bielema, but one thing is for certain: Arkansas is going to run the ball in 2016. We just don’t know who will be the ones doing the carrying.

The most experienced back on roster is Kody Walker. The 6th year senior is a bruising back and has shown an ability to find the open field and get big yards. The problem is, his punishing running style has taken a toll on his body throughout his career.

Walker stands at 6’2 and weighs over 250 pounds, and he runs like it. He barrels over defenders and has a wicked stiff arm. However, last year he fractured his arm, and his first two seasons he suffered season ending injuries. Walker can play the role of FB and RB, and can carry the load if need be, but has yet to play a complete season at running back. That being said, his size and abilities are too much to overlook, and Bielema has had great success with bigger backs before coming to Arkansas.

We’re all pulling for Walker to be one of the featured backs here at Razorbackers. He’s due an injury free season of carries after all he’s been through.

Competing with Walker will be another back that is coming off injuries, Rawleigh Williams III. RW3 suffered a season ending neck injury last season, and has yet to return to full contact drills yet. However, in his short time as a freshman RB, he showed major abilities as a downhill runner.

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RW3 runs almost identically to Johnathan Williams. He hits the hole with his shoulders low, drives through contact, and always falls forward. He’s not a speedster, and he’s not a true powerback. He’s just a great looking running back with excellent vision and a natural propensity to run people over. In the coming seasons, he could very well be splitting time with the newest addition to the Arkansas backfield as yet another dynamic dual-back combo for Bielema.

Devwah Whaley, the highly touted running back from Beaumont, Texas, was the #3 running back in his class overall, and a top 100 prospect. He had offers from [insert school here] and is one of the most anticipated new Razorbacks that fans want to see.

Unfortunately, Whaley won’t be in Cardinal and White until the summer, so both Hog fans and Reggie Mitchell will have to be patient while the new addition to the roster finishes up his high school career. Whaley has a combination of speed and power (and hype) that should remind fans of Alex Collins. Devwah may not have to bear as much of a load a true freshman that Collins did, but his abilities may push him towards the top of the depth chart sooner rather than later.

Lastly, and most interestingly, is the move of Damon Mitchell from receiver to running back. The New Jersey native came to Arkansas as a dual threat QB, but found himself lost in the depth chart of Allens and other recruits. He made the move to wide receiver for last season, and showed great athleticism in the role.

However, before spring practice, Mitchell told Coach Bielema that he wanted to move to either running back or safety, so he could compete for a spot immediately and contribute quicker. They decided to give Mitchell a shot at running back, and apparently, it’s going pretty well.

Here’s what we know about Mitchell as a football player: He’s big (6’2, 212 pounds), he plays smart, he plays hard, has great hands, and has a quick first step. I’m not saying that Mitchell is going to be lining up in the backfield when we’re under center, but the dynamic that he offers as a blocker/runner/pass catcher out of shotgun situations is undeniable.

He could carve out a real niche for himself in the shotgun, particularly with the stacked stable of receivers and tight ends that the Hogs have that will be drawing the attention of the linebackers and safeties. That could leave Mitchell open in big ways on screens and dump passes to the flats.

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All in all, the Arkansas Razorbacks have a lot of figuring out left to do in the running back position. That’s probably one of the things about Reggie that stood out to Bielema. His experience and successes would suggest that he could take this group of backs and turn them into a cohesive unit. Which is super important for a Bret Bielema team.

So while all eyes are drawn to the QB roster battle, the running backs will quietly be fighting for carries as well. The Arkansas offense, as a whole, is full of uncertainties. The offensive line has yet to be set, and the QB battle is far from decided.

With all that going on, it’s not surprising that the running back position battle has fallen behind in news coverage. But believe me, there’s a battle happening for that #1 spot. And it’s going to be a physical contest to see who gets it.