There are quite a few new faces in the running back room for Arkansas football.
The Razorbacks lost four scholarship players at the position to the transfer portal over the offseason, but replaced them with two from the portal, one traditional high school signee and one JUCO transfer.
It may not be as deep as it was perceived to be entering 2023, but Arkansas still has SEC talent at the top of the group. The depth will likely play out during fall camp and into the season.
Here’s how things stand right now, though, as best we can tell…
The 1-2 Punch for Arkansas Football
Ja’Quinden Jackson, Rashod Dubinion
A strong case could be made that Ja’Quinden Jackson was Arkansas’ most impressive transfer during spring ball. The offensive line additions and quarterback Taylen Green certainly had their moments, but the running back from Utah was arguably the most consistent of the bunch.
Even though he split time with Rashod Dubinion on the first-team unit, Jackson stood out with his physical running style and also displayed good speed.
That shouldn’t be particularly surprising considering his success with the Utes last season. He led the team with 797 rushing yards in 2023 – 534 of which came after contact. Some of that was on display during the Red-White spring game back in April. Not bad for a former quarterback who only converted to full-time running back in 2022.
We saw enough from Jackson to pencil him in as a starter, but it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Dubinion get the nod at the beginning of the season because he is entering his third season in the Arkansas football program.
After all, he stuck around while Rocket Sanders (South Carolina), AJ Green (Oklahoma State), Isaiah Augustave (Colorado) and Dominique Johnson (TCU) transferred out.
Over his first two years, there has been a lot of hype surrounding Dubinion based on what he showed as a four-star recruit in his first spring ball and again last offseason, but he hasn’t quite produced like some may have expected. He’s gained 533 rushing yards in his career, but averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
Perhaps sharing the backfield with several other quality running backs has played a part in the limited production, but he needs the vision and change-of-direction he’s shown in practice to carry over into games. Even if Jackson ends up starting, Dubinion will still get plenty of work, so hopefully that’ll help him play up to his full potential.
The Wildcards
Braylen Russell, Rodney Hill, Tyrell Reed Jr.
None of these three running backs have suited up for the Razorbacks in a real game, but Braylen Russell does have the advantage of being the only one to go through spring ball.
As you’d expect with a true freshman, there were moments when Russell looked like a legitimate SEC running back ready to handle a full workload immediately and there were moments he struggled quite a bit. In particular, ball security was probably a bigger issue for him than the other scholarship running backs.
That said, there is probably a role for the four-star recruit out of Benton. He has tree trunks for legs and it takes multiple defenders to get him on the ground. If he can clean up the ball security issues, Russell could easily be used in short-yardage situations and also just to give the other team a different look after getting a healthy dose of Ja’Quinden Jackson and Rashod Dubinion. He could potentially be used as a fullback, as well, as that’s a position offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino utilized when he was the Arkansas football head coach.
Of course, how much he actually plays could also depend on how quickly Rodney Hill and Tyrell Reed Jr. adapt to Petrino’s offense. They were added to the roster after spring ball.
Hill is perhaps the most intriguing because he was a four-star recruit, according to ESPN, and signed with Florida State out of high school. In two years with the Seminoles, he flashed some, but wasn’t able to carve out a significant role.
That led to him hitting the transfer portal. Arkansas recruited him at that point, but Hill landed at Florida A&M, an FCS school coached by Willie Simmons. When Simmons left to become the running backs coach at Duke, Hill entered the portal again and this time, the Razorbacks reeled him in. At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, he’s a much different running back than Russell, so his potential emergence might not impact the freshman too much.
Reed is a little bit bigger, listed at 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, but he’s making a much larger jump in level of competition as a JUCO transfer. The difference between Hutchinson C.C. and the SEC is way different than the difference between Florida State and the SEC. As a sophomore, though, he has time to evolve and contribute down the line, even if it’s not this year.
The Walk-Ons
Emmanuel Crawford, Cade Fields, Jezreel Bachert
With the five players listed above, it’s highly unlikely that any of these walk-on running backs see the field on offense – outside of a blowout win over UAPB in the opener. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t end up earning a role on special teams, though.
Jezreel Bachert is attending the UA on a four-year National Army ROTC scholarship and will serve a minimum of eight years in the army upon his graduation. Prior to joining the football team via open tryouts, Bachert played on Arkansas’ club rugby team.
Emmanuel Crawford came to Arkansas from Grove, Okla., which you may know as Sam Pittman’s hometown. He was actually listed as a wide receiver during spring ball, but ended up still playing a lot of running back. That’s how he’s currently listed on the online roster.
Cade Fields is a Fayetteville native who played running back and linebacker just up the road at Fayetteville High. He began his collegiate career at Arkansas Tech before transferring back home as a walk-on.
Arkansas Football Position Previews
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