The running back stable that South Carolina trots onto the field in its season opener against N.C. State will look much different than the one that running backs coach Bobby Bentley inherited last year.
"We had a great meeting today where I said, 'Guys, we have flipped the running back group,'" Bentley said prior to the beginning of spring practice. "This time a year ago, we had one guy with a few carries and couple 100 yards. And now we've got two guys that started as freshmen, 1,200 yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Now that's not good enough, but that is a lot of experience coming back."
Knowing that the Gamecocks running back depth chart was less than ideal, Bentley knew he had to add difference-makers and fast.
Rather than just simply signing a few high school running backs to flip the position, Bentley has used creative means to add both talent and maturity to the running back room.
"You just work at it," Bentley explained. "You're just constantly turning wheels, constantly connecting dots, you're just constantly putting out feelers. You're constantly trying to work your connections and work relationships. You've got a situation where it kind of blossomed for us. Now we've just got to go produce. Bottom line. We've got to have a good year."
Sure, adding a five-star high school back to the mix can completely change the dynamic of a position group, but with a limited supply of blue-chippers and the Gamecocks fresh off a 3-9 campaign, that probably wasn't an option.
Bentley started by adding the lightly recruited, but highly talented Rico Dowdle, who was playing quarterback at A.C. Reynolds in Asheville, N.C. It's a bit of a mystery why the three-star prospect who accounted for 63 total TDs wasn't more highly recruited, but Bentley wasn't worried about what others thought, and his faith in Dowdle's ability paid off.
Dowdle recovered from an injury that kept him out of the first four games as a freshman last year to lead the team in rushing with 764 yards and six touchdowns. Dowdle teamed with redshirt freshman A.J. Turner, who went from fifth on the depth chart last spring to the team's second-leading rusher with 497 yards and three touchdowns.
This year, the Gamecocks will benefit from the addition of former North Carolina running back Ty'Son Williams, who joined the squad last year as a walk-on and sat out due to NCAA transfer rules, but has already developed quite a reputation within the program.
"He ran through the defense as a scout team guy last year," Bentley said of Williams. "Coach (Will) Muschamp saw that first hand. He's an angry runner. Ty'Son brings a little different element to what our running back room has and he's a little bigger, a little more powerful. It's going to be exciting to see what is produced in Williams-Brice Stadium on the grass. Not us talking about it, but seeing production, because he's really talented."
Former Goose Creek (S.C.) and Wisconsin running back Caleb Kinlaw also joins the group as a junior transfer who could help.
